' 


. 


* 


V- 


THE  CONGREGATION  OF 
SAINT  JOSEPH  OF  CARONDELET, 
ST.  LOUIS,  MISSOURI 
(1650-1922) 


\ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Boston  Library  Consortium  Member  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/congregationofsaOOsava_O 


HENRY  DE  MAUPAS  DU  TOUR,  BISHOP  OF  LE  PUY  AND  OF  EVREUX 

l6o6-l68o 


The  Congregation  of 
Saint  Joseph  of  Carondelet 

A  BRIEF  ACCOUNT  OF  ITS  ORIGIN  AND  ITS 
WORK  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  (1650-1922) 


BY 

SISTER  MARY  LUCIDA  RAVAGE,  Ph.D.J> 

Of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  of  Carondelet, 

St.  Louis,  Missouri 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 
MOST  REVEREND  JOHN  JOSEPH  GLENNON 
Archbishop  of  St.  Louis 


B.  HERDER  BOOK  CO. 


17  SOUTH  BROADWAY,  ST.  LOUIS,  MO. 

AND 


68  GREAT  RUSSELL  ST.,  LONDON,  W.  C. 

1923 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  USKA«T 
CHESTNUT  HILL.  MASS. 


NIHIL  OB  ST  AT 

Sti.  Ludovici,  die  30.  Aug.,  1923. 

F.  G.  Holweck, 

Censor  Librorum 


IMPRIMATUR 

Sti.  Ludovici,  die  31.  Aug.,  1923. 

►ft Joannes  I.  Glennon, 
Archiepis  copus 

Sti.  Ludovici 


Copyright,  1923, 
by 

The  Congregation  of  St.  Joseph 
of  Carondelet 


All  rights  reserved 
Printed  in  U.  S.  A. 


« 


DEDICATED  TO 


THE  MEMORY  OF  OUR  PIONEER  SISTERS, 
WHO,  AT  CARONDELET  IN  THE 
DIOCESE  OF  ST.  LOUIS,  MISSOURI, 
LAID  THE  FOUNDATIONS  OF 


THE 

CONGREGATION 

IN 

AMERICA. 

PREFACE 


The  history  of  a  religious  congregation  is  necessarily  limited 
in  scope.  It  is  rarely  of  interest  to  the  general  public.  Its  im¬ 
portance  is  relative,  in  that  it  forms  but  a  line,  a  paragraph,  or 
a  page  in  the  larger  history  of  the  Church’s  activities.  It  is 
only  to  the  congregation  itself  that  a  knowledge  of  its  past  is 
of  vital  significance.  Viewed  in  its  present  workings,  each 
religious  community  resembles  many  others.  It  is  differen¬ 
tiated  from  all  others  in  the  circumstances  which  called  it 
into  being,  the  motives  which  actuated  its  founders,  the  ideals 
which  have  guided  and  influenced  its  growth.  Thus  the  very 
identity  of  an  institution  is  bound  up  irrevocably  with  the  story 
of  its  origin,  its  development,  and  its  traditions,  all  of  which 
must  be  familiar  to  the  workers  of  today,  if  the  movements  of 
yesterday  are  to  be  perpetuated  and  continuity  of  life  and  effort 
maintained.  The  past  must  impart  its  wisdom  to  the  present 
that  the  future  may  justify  both  and  fulfil  their  aspirations. 

This  history  has  been  undertaken  in  the  hope  that  a  sympathetic 
understanding  of  the  difficulties  which  beset  a  religious  com¬ 
munity  in  its  progress  may  lead  to  a  greater  appreciation  of  all 
such  bodies  in  the  realization  of  their  aims ;  and  that  youthful 
aspirants  to  a  life  of  labor  in  the  Lord’s  vineyard  may  draw  en¬ 
couragement  from  a  view  of  obstacles  happily  overcome. 

Two  chief  difficulties  present  themselves  to  the  author  of  a 
work  of  this  nature :  the  absence  of  striking  events  such  as 
ordinarily  render  an  historical  narrative  interesting  to  the  gen¬ 
eral  reader;  and  the  meagerness  of  sources  of  information.  The 
life  of  retirement  from  the  world  which  all  communities  lead 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree  contributes  largely  to  both.  Same¬ 
ness  quite  naturally  pervades  days,  months  and  years  regulated 

vii 


vm 


PREFACE 


by  rule;  and  community  annals,  frequently  the  only  sources  of 
information,  have  rarely,  if  ever,  been  kept  with  a  view  to  pub¬ 
licity.  Few  communities  emerge  from  the  by-paths  of  history 
often  enough  to  be  met  with  on  the  high-ways;  and  general 
works,  even  of  Church  history,  are  in  consequence  practically 
useless  except  at  the  cross  roads,  where  they  serve  only  to  point 
the  wav. 

a' 

The  Congregation  of  Saint  Joseph,  suppressed  during  the 
French  Revolution,  suffered  an  irreparable  loss  in  the  destruction 
of  its  records  kept  previous  to  that  event.  For  this  period  of 
the  Congregation’s  history,  the  author  has  relied  chiefly  on  the 
work  of  Leon  Bouchage,  chaplain  for  many  years  of  the  Sisters 
of  Saint  Joseph  in  Chambery,  and  a  member  of  the  Academy  of 
Savoy,  who,  in  the  preparation  of  the  Chroniques  des  Soeurs  de 
Saint  Joseph  de  Chambery ,  had  access  to  many  unedited  docu¬ 
ments  in  various  Departments  of  France,  and  to  convent  archives 
in  France  and  Savoy.  For  assistance  in  collecting  much  ma¬ 
terial  relative  to  the  history  of  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  in 
America,  she  is  indebted  to  numerous  members  of  her  Congre¬ 
gation  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States,  to  all  of  whom  she 
makes  grateful  acknowledgment,  especially  to  Reverend  Mother 
Mary  Agnes  Rossiter,  Superior-General,  whose  constant  and  help¬ 
ful  encouragement  has  been  a  source  of  inspiration. 

She  takes  this  occasion  of  thanking  the  Right  Reverend  F.  G. 
Holweck  of  St.  Louis  for  the  use  of  manuscript  letters  belonging 
to  the  Rosati  collection  in  the  St.  Louis  Diocesan  Archives ;  also 
Reverend  Patrick  William  Browne,  S.T.D.,  Instructor  in  Church 
History  at  the  Catholic  University  of  America,  for  valuable 
suggestions  given.  She  expresses  her  gratitude  in  a  very 
special  manner  to  Reverend  Nicholas  Aloysius  Weber,  S.M., 
S.T.D.,  Professor  of  History  at  the  Catholic  University  of 
America,  under  whose  direction  during  three  years  the  work  was 
accomplished. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

I  Origin  and  Early  EIistory  (1650-1794)  .... 

II  Restoration  and  Spread  of  the  Congregation 
(1807-1835)  . 

III  Beginnings  of  the  Congregation  in  America 

(1836-1839)  . 

IV  Carondelet,  the  Mother  House  of  the  Congrega¬ 

tion  (1836-1839)  . 

V  Mother  Celestine  Pommerel,  St.  Joseph’s  Acad¬ 
emy  and  First  Missions  in  St.  Louis  (1840- 
1846)  . 

VI  Foundations  in  Pennsylvania  (1847),  Minnesota 
(1851),  Canada  (1851),  Virginia  (1853),  New 
York  (1854)  . 

VII  Pioneer  Days  in  Minnesota  (1851-1857)  . 

VIII  The  Progress  of  a  Decade.  Death  of  Mother 
Celestine  Pommerel  (1847-1857)  .  .  .  . 

IX  Period  of  Reorganization  :  General  Govern¬ 
ment.  Papal  Approbation  (1858-1867)  . 

X  Expansion  of  the  Congregation  under  Mother 
Saint  John  Facemaz  (1860-1872)  .... 

XI  The  Administration  of  Reverend  Mother  Agatha 
Guthrie  (1872-1904) . 

XII  On  the  Mission  Field.  Death  of  Reverend 
Mother  Agatha  Guthrie  (1904)  .  .  .  . 

XIII  The  Congregation  in  the  East  (1858-1922)  . 

XIV  Expansion  in  the  North  (1858-192 2)  . 

XV  Pioneers  in  Arizona.  The  California  Mission 
(1870-1922)  . 

XVI  Missionary  Work  among  the  Western  Indians 
(1873-1922)  . 


PAGE 

I 

l6 

27 

43 

55 

68 

80 

94 

112 

129 

154 

i§3 

208 

229 

248 

270 


IX 


X 


CONTENTS 


PAG* 


CHAPTER 

XVII  The  Administration  of  Reverend  Mother  Agnes 
Gonzaga  Ryan.  Benevolent  Works  of  the 
Congregation.  (1905-1922)  296 

Bibliography . 310 

Appendix . 3*9 

Index . 329 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PORTRAIT  5 

I  Henry  de  Maupas  du  Tour,  Bishop  of  Le  Puy  and  of 


Evreux  . . Frontispiece 

TACIXG  PAGE 

II  Mother  Saint  John  Fontbonne .  12 

III  Joseph  Rosati,  First  Bishop  of  St.  Louis . 30 

IV  Mother  Celestine  Pommerel . 56 

V  Mother  Saint  John  Facemaz . 112 

VI  Sister  Julia  Littenecker . 124 

VII  Mother  Agatha  Guthrie . 156 

VIII  Peter  Richard  Kenrick,  First  Archbishop  of  St.  Louis  .  179 

IX  Mother  Agnes  Gonzaga  Ryan . 296 

PICTURES 

I  St  Joseph’s  Academy  and  Mother  House,  Carondelet  .  46 

II  Fontbonne  College . 73 

III  St.  Joseph’s  Hospital,  St.  Paul,  Minnesota  ....  90 


IV  The  St.  Teresa  Junior  College  and  Academy,  Kansas 

City,  Missouri . 144 

V  Nazareth  Retreat.  Cemetery  at  Nazareth  Retreat  .  .168 

VI  Tower  and  Court,  Mother  House . 174 

VII  Holy  Family  Chapel,  Mother  House . 204 

VIII  St.  Joseph's  Seminary  and  Provincial  House,  Troy,  New 


York  . 224 

IX  College  of  St  Rose  of  Lima,  Albany,  New  York  .  .  226 

X  St.  Joseph's  Novitiate  and  Provincial  House,  St.  Paul, 

Minnesota . 236 


ILLUSTRATION 


PfCTTTRES  FACING  PAGE 

XI  St.  Catherine’s  Chapel  and  College  Hall,  College  of  St. 

Catherine,  St.  Paul . 244 

XII  St.  Mary’s  Academy  and  Provincial  House,  Los  Angeles, 

California . 260 

XIII  Cloister  and  Court,  St.  Mary’s  Academy,  Los  Angeles  .  268 

XIV  Mission  San  Xavier  del  Bac,  Arizona . 272 

XV  St.  Mary’s  Hospital,  Minneapolis,  Minnesota 

St.  Joseph’s  Hospital,  Kansas  City,  Missouri  ....  302 

XVI  Mount  St.  Joseph,  Provincial  House,  Augusta,  Georgia  .  306 


INTRODUCTION 


These  latter  days  for  many  of  our  people  are  drab  and  gray. 
Life  has  lost  the  vigor,  sparkle  and  buoyancy  of  previous  years. 
Just  as  when  a  fever  has  run  its  course  there  comes  exhaustion  of 
body  and  mind,  so  today,  after  the  war,  our  people  are  tired  and 
disappointed,  with  little  in  the  present  to  bring  comfort,  while  the 
future  looms  up  dark  and  threatening.  Seeking  relief  from  these 
conditions  they  rush  madly  to  the  amusement  center,  where  one 
can  laugh  and  forget.  Unwilling  or  unable  to  do  sustained 
thinking,  they  naturally  seek  amusement  that  requires  no  men¬ 
tality.  They  must  have  something  that  will  thrill  them ;  let  it  be 
as  foolish  and  as  frivolous  as  you  will,  they  enjoy  it  as  tired 
children  do  and  ask  for  more.  Yet  they  would  not  be  regarded 
as  altogether  thoughtless — as  altogether  frivolous.  Even  the 
tired  mind  or  body  still  seeks  employment.  Hence  we  have  from 
the  benches  the  demand  for  action  which  they  can  interpret, 
movement  which  they  can  follow,  and  crime  which  they  can 
analyze.  They  would  be  philosophers,  psychologists  and  what 
not,  provided  only  that,  substituting  the  nervous  system  for  the 
soul,  you  set  up  the  abnormal,  the  irregular,  the  unmoral,  for 
their  inane  and  sympathetic  study. 

Under  such  conditions,  it  would  appear  to  be  highly  inop¬ 
portune  to  publish  a  book  whose  object  is  to  tell  “the  short  and 
simple  annals”  of  a  society  of  women  whose  only  claim  to  atten¬ 
tion  is  that  they  are  and  have  been  friends  of  the  poor,  teachers 
of  little  children  and  humble  followers  of  the  Nazarene;  es¬ 
pecially,  when,  as  is  the  case  before  us,  the  accomplished  writer 
must  complete  her  task  according  to  modern  historical  standards, 
writing  only  substantial  truths  in  a  substantial  way.  According 

to  that  standard,  she  must  set  down  facts  without  exaggeration 

xiii 


XIV 


INTRODUCTION 


or  extenuation,  calmly  weigh  them,  coldly  present  them ;  and  for 
embellishment,  she  may  not  go  beyond  the  notes  which  serve  as 
a  reference.  A  book  so  written  has  little  appeal  to  the  world  of 
today.  For  the  world  has  been  deceived  so  often  during  these 
last  years;  so  much  has  been  set  before  it  as  solemn  fact,  which 
proved  to  be  the  veriest  fiction,  that  it  has  come  to  suspect  every¬ 
body,  accusing  even  the  historian  with  being  a  propagandist.  “A 
truce  to  facts  and  factmongers,”  they  say;  “give  us  the  tinselled 
show,  label  it  fantasy,  dream,  illusion.  A  passing  show  it  may 
be;  but  what  care  we?  We,  too,,  are  passing,  and  after  us — 
the  deluge.  ” 

And  yet  even  to  those  who  so  declaim,  I  commend  this  book 
“Tolle,  lege.”  Read  the  lines  and  then  between  them.  Do  you 
want  something  heroic?  Well,  there  in  the  year  1650  in  the 
Church  of  Le  Puy,  France,  stands  Bishop  de  Maupas.  He  hands 
to  the  lily-white  daughters  of  France  a  cross.  “Wear  it  openly,” 
he  says  to  them;  “bear  it  bravely,  just  as  Christ  did  up  anguished 
heights.  Carry  it  down  the  ways  of  pain  into  homes  of  fever, 
into  the  warrens  of  the  poor;  bear  it  to  far  off  lands.  Be  it  your 
oriflame,  to  light  you  to  victory.  When  in  death  you  resign  it, 
let  other  hands  and  hearts  like  to  yours  in  consecration  take  up  the 
burden,  preserving  it  ever  in  their  and  your  society’s  keeping 
during  the  onrolling  centuries.” 

Yes,  gentle  reader,  you  are  right  in  claiming  that  human  nature 
is  inconstant,  ever  changing,  ever  seeking  something  new.  Yet, 
today,  in  the  face  of  a  world’s  inconstancy,  the  Sisters  of  Saint 
Joseph,  ten-thousand  strong,  still  carry,  still  cherish,  the  cross 
their  founder  gave  them.  But  the  gentle  reader  may  demand 
ungentle  things.  If  so,  let  him  pass  on  in  these  chronicles  to 
where  in  1793  the  French  Revolution  had  reached  its  climax. 
It  was  then  her  “citizenesses”  manned  the  barricades  and  Dame 
Guillotine  was  their  queen.  Not  without  cause  did  they  shout 
for  liberty  and  demand  it;  for  theirs  had  been  an  age-long  op¬ 
pression.*  But  wholly  without  cause  did  they  now  demand  death 
for  those  who  served  better  than  they  the  cause  of  the  poor  and 


INTRODUCTION 


xv 


lowly.  What  care  the  “heroines”  for  home  or  vow,  or  faith  or 
decency!  Had  they  not  their  goddess  of  reason;  and  had  they 
not  the  power ;  and  why  should  they  claim  the  inhuman  right 
in  the  name  of  humanity  to  send  to  cLiath  or  exile  its  most  devoted 
servants,  the  religious  women  of  France.  The  blood  red  storm 
sweeps  over  the  land.  The  pastors  are  stricken — the  flock  is  dis¬ 
persed  ;  and  now  in  the  wake  of  the  storm,  from  out  their  hiding 
places  come  the  few  that  are  left.  The  heroic  Sister  Saint  John 
Fontbonne  gathers  together  the  scattered  flock,  lifts  again  the 
cross,  invokes  the  protection  of  Saint  Joseph,  and  builds  anew 
for  France  and  the  Faith. 

To  the  world,  a  Sisterhood  is  something  static.  It  has  its 
holy  rules,  its  cloister,  its  black  veil  and  its  cemetery;  that  is,  it 
so  appears  to  the  world ;  yet  the  truth  is  that  nowhere  else  is  there 
such  abiding  hope,  nowhere  such  abundant  yearning  for  a  divine 
adventure.  A  Bishop  from  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  appeals 
to  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  to  leave  their  home,  their  country 
and  their  friends,  to  bid  adieu  to  the  fertile  plains,  the  vine-clad 
hills  of  their  native  land.  From  out  the  land  of  the  setting  sun 
comes  the  cry  for  help.  It  is  the  cry  from  the  trader  by  the 
river  and  the  Indian  of  the  forest;  and  joyously  they  answer  it. 
Theirs  is  a  journey  of  four  thousand  miles  over  the  waters  of  a 
turbulent  sea,  with  no  impelling  force  except  the  will  of  God  and 
the  winds  that  fitfully  blow.  The  days  pass  by,  and  the  sick  and 
weary  band  of  Sisters  reach  New  Orleans — then  up  the  Missis¬ 
sippi  to  their  new  home  in  the  West. 

To  us  in  these  days  of  steam  and  electricity,  where  wind  and 
wave,  time  and  tide,  are  largely  conquered  by  the  genius  of  man, 
this  journey  of  theirs  may  not  be  regarded  as  an  adventure;  but 
when  you  recall  the  conditions  of  their  home  in  France,  their 
long  journey  hither  and  their  persistent  effort  through  it  all  to 
maintain  the  decorum  and  order  of  the  religious  life;  when 
finally  you  see  them  here,  homeless,  in  this  strange  land,  such  as 
it  was  almost  a  century  ago  (1836);  when  you  consider  that 
they  had  left  behind  them  the  gravelled  paths  and  trim  hedge- 


XVI 


INTRODUCTION 


ways  of  Carcassonne,  of  Lyons  and  Le  Puy,  to  find  here  the 
poison-ivy  and  black  mud  of  the  Cahokia  Bottoms,  you  will  admit 
that  there  was  in  the  hearts  of  the  emigrants  both  courage  and 
consecration. 

Nor  did  this  spirit  of  adventure  desert  the  Community  in  its 
new  home.  From  the  North  and  the  South,  from  the  East  and 
the  West,  the  call  came  to  them  that  they  should  go  forth  in  God’s 
name  and  teach.  Prompt,  joyous  and  generous  was  their 
response;  until  the  entire  land  became  the  scene  of  their  exploits, 
the  pilgrims  praying,  teaching,  and  dispensing  mercy  everywhere 
they  went.  I  would  refer  our  gentle  reader  again  to  the  story 
of  their  migrations,  and  particularly  to  that  one  towards  the 
West ;  for  the  West  has  a  charm  all  its  own.  It  is  the  land  where 
romance  still  loves  to  linger.  At  the  call  of  the  Vicar-Apostolic 
of  Arizona,  a  group  of  Sisters  set  their  faces  towards  the  West. 
It  was  in  the  year  1870;  and  while  many  western  railroads  were 
built,  yet  to  reach  their  destination  in  distant  Arizona,  it  was 
necessary  for  the  Sisters  to  travel  by  way  of  Omaha,  Salt  Lake, 
San  Francisco,  and  then  southward  by  boat  to  San  Diego.  From 
this  vantage  point,  which  lay  by  the  placid  waters  of  the  Western 
Sea,  the  devoted  band  must  leave  that  land  of  fruit  and  flowers 
to  follow  the  trail  that  led  eastward  through  mountain  passes  and 
across  mighty  rivers  and  deep-set  canons,  onwards  to  the  distant 
table  lands  of  Arizona. 

How  they  travelled,  where  they  rested,  requires  little  effort  to 
imagine.  What  were  the  emotions,  what  the  privations  and  the 
changing  surroundings  of  their  journey.  One  day  they  rest  by 
the  foot  of  the  mountain  where  the  wild  flowers  bloom.  In  the 
morning,  they  must  travel  on  foot  up  the  mountain  side,  too 
steep  for  the  wagon  to  go ;  now  desending  through  the  perilous 
pass,  to  come  to  the  mighty  river,  to  rest  by  its  banks,  and  to  gain 
fresh  strength  to  meet  the  further  perils  on  the  way.  The  cav¬ 
alry  from  the  Mexican  frontier  post  greet  them  as  they  pass. 
Then  from  their  hiding  places  come  the  Indian  bands.  The 
Chief  is  ready  to  attack  his  hereditary  foes;  but  suddenly  stops, 


INTRODUCTION 


XVII 

for  the  cross  the  Sisters  bear  reminds  him  of  his  ancient  friend, 
“the  black-robe/’  On  they  go,  each  day  brighter,  fairer  and 
lonelier  than  the  one  that  is  gone.  Now  come  the  painted  rocks 
and  rainbow  canons,  and  the  serried  bluffs  like  Franciscans  in 
prayer;  and  now  the  clear,  cold  calm  of  the  plateau-land  where 
earth  and  sky  commingle;  a  land  of  sunshine  with  no  shadow  save 
of  the  soaring  eagle;  a  land  of  distance,  solitude  and  silence. 
It  is  the  land  of  uplift,  where,  whether  it  be  in  the  effulgent  light 
of  the  sun  by  day  or  in  the  company  of  the  near  and  friendly  stars 
by  night,  spirit  can  commune  with  spirit  and  all  with  God.  It 
was  in  such  settings  that  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  found  a 
home  at  Tucson,  Arizona,  in  1870. 

So  far  I  have  guided  the  gentle  reader  to  just  a  few  incidents 
in  the  life  of  the  Saint  Joseph  Community.  I  will  now  ask  him 
to  read  it  all;  and  he  will  find  that  instead  of  being  a  story  inane 
and  impractical,  it  is  everywhere  shot  through  with  the  spirit  of 
faith,  of  sacrifice  and  of  romance.  It  is  the  history  of  a  Sister¬ 
hood  that  in  the  long  years  of  its  existence  has  never  defaulted; 
and  the  courage,  sacrifice  and  fidelity  of  its  members  has  never 
once  been  doubted,  never  questioned. 

In  the  world  of  today  there  is  a  long  red  battle  line;  and  many 
are  the  combatants  engaged  in  the  struggle  on  this  side  and  that. 
The  battle  ground  is  the  school  room,  and  the  reward  to  the  vic¬ 
tors  is  the  soul  of  the  child.  The  Sister  teacher’s  desk  is  set  by 
the  edge  of  that  thin  red  line.  There  today  the  Sister  stands, 
fighting  the  battle  in  God’s  name,  struggling  to  save  His  children. 
She  has  arrayed  against  her  wealth  and  power,  the  limitless 
resources  of  Caesar,  whose  camp  is  still  set  over  against  the  Lord 
our  God.  While  stands  the  Sister  there,  the  Christian  school 
shall  stand,  and  the  future  is  secure ;  but  should  the  Sister  teacher 
fail,  or  should  the  line  of  battle  be  forced  back,  then  Christ’s 
cause  would  be  imperiled  and  the  battle  of  the  ages  lost. 

The  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  are  privileged  to  be  the  advanced 
guard  today  in  that  battle,  which  is  of  and  for  the  Lord.  We 
pray  that  many  will  come  to  help  them  in  that  struggle,  to  take 


INTRODUCTION 


U4 

xvm 


the  place  of  the  heroines  who  fall;  to  aid  them  in  seeking  new 
points  of  advantage,  or  furnish  a  reserve  ready  for  action  in 
these  coming  days  which  threaten.  Not  all  our  young  women ' 
can  be  Sisters.  Only  those  who  are  willing  to  make  sacrifices — 
only  those  whose  souls  are  touched  with  the  flame  of  the  spirit — 
only  those  who  can  see  high  emprise  in  leaving  all  to  follow 
Him — only  those  who  realize  that  there  is  no  solitude  where  God 
is,  and  that  no  mortal  task  may  claim  them  when  the  work  of 
God  is  to  be  done. 


John  J.  Glennon 
Archbishop  of  St.  Louis. 

St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

Octave  of  the  Ascension 
May  17,  1923. 


The  Congregation  of  Saint  Joseph 

of  Carondelet 


CHAPTER  I 

ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  HISTORY,  (165O-I794) 

The  Congregation  of  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  was  founded 
in  1650  at  Le  Puy,  capital  of  ancient  Velay  in  France.  The 
organization  of  this  community  as  a  congregation  of  women 
without  enclosure  and  with  simple  vows  was,  in  the  middle  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  almost  an  innovation.  Many  of  the  ex¬ 
isting  orders  of  women  had  their  origin  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
and  followed  the  rules  of  corresponding  orders  of  men,  but 
were  different  from  the  latter  in  this,  that  the  women  were  sub¬ 
ject  to  enclosure. 

This  regulation,  imposed  at  first  by  Bishops,  was  made  a  law 
for  all  professed  nuns  by  Pope  Boniface  VIII  toward  the  end  of 
the  thirteenth  century,1  and  again  by  Pope  Pius  V  in  a  constitu¬ 
tion  of  May  25,  1 566. 2  The  latter  included  even  tertiaries 
with  simple  vows,  by  whom  the  active  works  of  charity,  im¬ 
possible  for  cloistered  religious,  had  been  undertaken.  The 
rigor  of  these  laws,  which  remained  in  force  for  nearly  three 
hundred  years,  had  relaxed  somewhat  before  the  beginning  of 
the  seventeenth  century;  but  enclosure  was  still  looked  upon  as 
an  essential  safeguard  for  the  life  of  prayer  and  penance  en¬ 
tailed  by  the  vows,  and  the  approbation  of  the  Holy  See  was 
withheld  from  such  communities  of  women  as  did  not  observe 
the  regulations  of  the  cloister. 

1  Decree  Periculoso,  later  confirmed  by  the  Council  of  Trent.  (Sess. 
XXV).  cf.  a.  vermeersch.  Article  “Nuns"  in  Catholic  Encyclopedia 
vol.  xi.,  p.  164. 

2  Circa  pastoralis.  Bullarium  Romanum.  Tomus  VII,  p.  448.  1859. 


2  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

A  century  had  passed  since  Saint  Ignatius  of  Loyola  revolu¬ 
tionized  the  existing  system  of  religious  life  for  men,  hitherto 
monastic  in  character,  by  turning  the  mortification  of  the  will 
to  greater  account  than  that  of  the  body,3  but  this  principle  had 
not  yet  been  incorporated  to  any  extent  in  the  rules  for  com¬ 
munities  of  women.  It  remained  for  Saint  Francis  de  Sales  to 
embody  it  in  the  spirit  of  the  Visitation,  though  his  rule  was 
looked  upon  with  disfavor  by  some  ecclesiastics  of  his  time  because 
of  its  lack  of  austerity.4  The  Daughters  of  the  Visitation  of 
Saint  Mary,  as  organized  in  1610,  were  to  combine  the  labors  of 
Martha  and  Mary,5  observing  enclosure  only  during  their  year 
of  novitiate,  after  which  they  should  be  free  to  engage  in  the 
duties  of  the  active  life.  The  first  intention  of  their  holy  foun¬ 
der  was  to  place  them  under  the  name  and  patronage  of  Saint 
Martha,  “the  hostess  of  our  Lord,  and  the  model  of  all  who 
serve  him  in  the  poor.”  G  His  cherished  idea  was  abandoned 
after  the  establishment  of  the  Visitation  at  Lyons  in  1615.  In 
deference  to  the  wishes  of  the  Archbishop  of  that  see,  Denis  de 
Marquemont,  who  urged  Francis  to  erect  his  congregation  into 
a  cloistered  order,  the  saint  made  the  vital  change  which  substi¬ 
tuted  solemn  for  simple  vows,  and  removed  his  spiritual  daugh¬ 
ters  from  the  wide  field  in  which  they  had  labored  for  five 
years.7 

The  friend  and  co-laborer  of  the  Bishop  of  Geneva  in  the 
evangelization  of  France,  Vincent  de  Paul,  hesitated  to  give 
even  the  semblance  of  a  religious  society  to  the  first  Sisters  of 
Charity,  lest  by  so  doing  he  might  defeat  the  purpose  of  their 
organization.  Though  instituted  in  1633,  it  was  not  until  1642 
that  four  of  the  Sisters  were  permitted  at  their  own  request  to 

3  Robert  ornsby,  Life  of  Saint  Francis  de  Sales,  p.  103.  New  York.  s.  d. 

4  marie  jean  hamon,  Vie  de  Saint  Francois  de  Sales,  vol.  II,  p.  84.  Paris, 

1883. 

5  Ibid.  p.  78. 

8  louis  bougaud.  Saint  Chantal  and  the  Foundation  of  the  Visitation  Or¬ 
der,  Translation;  New  York,  1895,  vol.  I,  p.  339. 

■  Ibid.  p.  395  ff.  hamon,  op.  cit.,  vol.  II,  p.  77. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  HISTORY 


3 


make  annual  vows  for  one  year.8  The  spirit  of  the  century  is 
shown  in  the  general  enthusiasm  which  greeted  the  change  in  the 
Visitation,  and  the  number  of  petitions  for  new  foundations 
received  by  Francis  de  Sales  after  the  establishment  of  the 
cloister.9 

To  this  century  belong  the  two  men,  illustrious  alike  for 
virtue  and  learning,  who  were  destined  in  the  Providence  of 
God  to  inaugurate  in  a  new  congregation,  that  of  the  Sisters 
of  Saint  Joseph,  the  plan  reluctantly  given  up  by  the  Bishop  of 
Geneva.  These  were  Henry  de  Maupas  du  Tour,  Bishop  of  Le 
Puy  and  later  of  Evreux,  and  John  Paul  Medaille,  a  zealous 
missionary  of  the  Society  of  Jesus. 

Henry  de  Maupas  du  Tour  was  born  in  1606  at  the  family 
castle  of  Cosson  near  Rheims.  His  father  was  Charles  de 
Maupas,  Baron  of  Tour,  a  distinguished  soldier,  a  statesman, 
and  litterateur,  counsellor  of  state  to  Henry  IV.10  His  mother 
was  Anne  of  Gondi.  Very  little  is  known  of  his  early  life,  ex¬ 
cept  that  from  his  tenderest  years,  encouraged  by  pious  parents, 
he  showed  an  inclination  for  the  service  of  the  altar;11  and  as 
a  member  of  the  illustrious  family  of  Gondi,  to  which  Vincent 
de  Paul  was  attached  for  a  time  as  preceptor  and  spiritual  guide, 
he  was  brought  up  under  the  influence  of  that  holy  man.12 
According  to  a  much  abused  custom  of  the  time,  he  was  named 
at  an  early  age  commendatory  abbot  of  St.  Denis  of  Rheims. 
The  emoluments  of  this  position  he  dispensed  in  charity;  and  he 
later  introduced  into  the  abbey  the  Congregation  of  Sainte  Gene¬ 
vieve.13  He  was  successively  vicar-general  of  Rheims  and 
chaplain  to  Anne  of  Austria,  wife  of  Louis  XIII.14 

8  emmanuel  de  broglie,  Saint  Vincent  de  Paul,  Translation  by  M.  Par¬ 
tridge,  London,  1898,  p.  148. 

0  BOUGAUD,  op.  cit.,  vol.  I,  p.  407. 

10  larousse,  Dictionnairc  universcl,  vol.  X,  p.  1357.  Paris,  1873. 

11  leon  bouchage,  Chroniqucs  des  Soeurs  de  Saint  Joseph  de  Chambery, 
p.  5,  Chambery,  1911. 

12  Ibid.  p.  6. 

13  michaud,  Biographic  universelle,  vol.  XXVI,  p.  316.  Paris. 

14  LAROUSSE,  op.  cit.,  VOl.  X,  p.  1358. 


4 


THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

In  the  latter  capacity,  he  was  again  brought  into  close  rela¬ 
tions  with  Vincent  de  Paul,  to  whom,  according  to  a  contempo¬ 
rary  prelate,  the  clergy  of  France  owed  their  splendor  and  re¬ 
nown.15  Many  evils  were  afflicting  the  Church  of  that  country  ; 
but,  owing  to  the  zeal  and  devotedness  of  Vincent,  there  existed, 
writes  one  of  his  biographers,  “crowds  of  men  and  women,  poor 
in  spirit,  clean  of  heart,  and  filled  with  the  love  of  God,  any  one 
of  whom  would  be  regarded,  outside  of  the  Church,  as  a  marvel 
and  a  prodigy.”  16  That  Henry  de  Maupas  belonged  to  this 
chosen  group,  his  intimate  association  with  the  Saint  under  whose 
spiritual  direction  he  was  for  many  years,17  is  alone  sufficient 
guarantee.  In  1641,  he  was  appointed  to  the  bishopric  of  Le 
Puy;  but  so  averse  was  he  to  the  honors  and  the  burdens  of  the 
episcopate,  that  he  did  not  enter  on  its  duties  until  January  20, 
1644.18 

One  of  the  noted  preachers  of  his  time,19  he  is  described  as  a 
man  of  great  humility,  love  of  retirement,  and  zeal  for  disci¬ 
pline.  He  studied  with  interest  and  enthusiasm  the  life  and 
works  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  whom  he  took  for  his  model 
in  the  arduous  labors  of  his  diocese,  and  whose  “spirit  he  re¬ 
vived  in  the  heart  of  the  Velay  mountains.”  20  He  was  the 
first  biographer  of  the  holy  Bishop  of  Geneva,  and  one  of  the 
third  commission  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  cause  of  the 
Saint’s  beatification.21  From  Le  Puy,  where  for  twenty  years 
he  had  endeared  himself  to  his  flock,  especially  to  the  lowly,  by 
the  constant  exercise  of  unbounded  charity,  he  was  removed 

15  Cf.  HENRY  BEDFORD,  M.A.  Life  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  p.  XIX,  New 
York,  1888. 

™Ibid.  p.  XIX. 

17  hamon,  op.  cit.,  vol.  I,  p.  VIII.  Bishop  de  Maupas  pronounced  a  funeral 
eulogy  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  in  the  Church  of  Saint  Germain  l’Auxerrois. 
m.  collet.  Life  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  p.  247.  Baltimore,  1805. 

18  BOUCHAGE,  Op.  dt.,  p.  J. 

19  MICHAUD,  Op.  Cit.,  VOI.  XXVII,  p.  316. 

20  bouchage,  op.  cit.,  p.  8. 

21  hamon.  Op.  cit.  Preface  to  vol.  I,  p.  VIII.  The  biography  was  pub¬ 
lished  at  Paris  1657  under  the  title  La  Vie  du  Venerable  Serviteur  de  Dieu, 
Francois  de  Sales. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  HISTORY 


5 


in  1 66 1  to  the  see  of  Evreux.  In  this  diocese,  says  M.  Hamon, 
“his  name  was  for  a  long  time  celebrated  for  the  missions  which 
he  procured  for  his  parishes,  the  catechetical  instructions  which 
he  gave,  his  tenderness  for  the  poor,  whom  he  made  his  sole 
heirs,  his  love  for  the  Blessed  Virgin,  whom  he  exalted  on  every 
occasion,  and  his  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God.’’  22  He  was  offered 
the  Archbishopric  of  Rouen  in  his  later  years ;  but  deeming  him¬ 
self  unworthy  to  hold  so  high  a  position  in  the  Church  of  God, 
he  refused  it  and  remained  at  Evreux  until  his  holy  death  in 
1680.23 

Associated  with  Bishop  de  Maupas  in  the  foundation  of  the 
Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  was  a  distinguished  missionary  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  John  Paul  Medaille.  He  was  born  in  Viviers 
in  1608,24  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  was  sent  to  the  Jesuit  Col¬ 
lege  of  Tournon,  where  the  young  scholastic,  John  Francis 
Regis,  was  pursuing  his  course  in  philosophy.25  In  1628, 2(1 
John  Paul  Medaille  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus  at  Toulouse; 

22  hamon,  op.  cit.  Preface  to  vol.  I,  p.  VIII.  7th  ed.,  1883. 

23  The  tomb  of  Bishop  de  Maupas  was  discovered  on  February  26,  1895,  in 
the  sanctuary  of  the  Cathedral  of  Evreux  while  excavations  were  being  made 
for  the  erection  of  a  new  main  altar.  A  leaden  plate  within  the  coffin  con¬ 
tained  the  following  inscription,  partly  obliterated : 

Henricvs  demavpasdvtovr,  epvs  Ebroicens  etanteaaniciensis,  abbas 
stidyonisii  rhemensis  etinsvlae  Calvarae  in  diocesi  Lvcionis,  obiit  12 
Avgvsti  1680  aetatis  svae  .  .  .  “Pater  Pavpervm.”  .  .  . 

“Henry  de  Maupas  du  Tour,  Bishop  of  Evreux,  formerly  of  Le  Puy,  abbot 
of  Saint  Denis  of  Rheims,  and  of  the  Isle  of  Calvara  in  the  diocese  of  Lugon, 
died  August  12,  1680,  in  the  year  of  his  age  .  .  .  “Father  of  the  Poor.”  .  .  . 
(Copy  of  above  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  Mother  House,  Carondelet.) 

24bouchage,  op.  cit.,  p.  587.  sommervogel,  s.  j.,  in  Bibliothcque  de  la 
Compagnie  dc  Jesus  (1894),  vol.  V,  p.  856,  gives  1618  as  the  date  of  his  birth 
and  the  place  Carcasonne.  The  date  1615  is  given  by  larousse  in  Dictionnaire 
universe l,  vol.  X,  p.  1410.  The  discrepancy  in  dates  and  in  other  circum¬ 
stances  of  Father  Medaille’s  life  is  no  doubt  due  to  his  being  confused  with 
a  contemporary,  John  Pierre  Medaille,  also  a  Jesuit. 

25  Ei.ESEBAN  guilhermy,  s.  j.,  writes  of  Father  Medaille  that  he  was  “formed 
in  the  school  of  St.  Francis  Regis,”  Menelogue  de  la  Compagnie  de  Jesus, 
Assistance  de  France,  Premiere  Par  tie,  p.  631. 

26bouchage,  p.  587. 


6  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

and  after  the  usual  period  of  probation  and  study,  taught  gram¬ 
mar  and  the  humanities  in  the  college  there.  He  was  then  en¬ 
gaged  for  six  years  in  the  teaching  of  philosophy;  but  being- 
specially  gifted  as  a  preacher,  he  was  assigned  to  missionary 
work,  and  sent  to  the  same  fields  in  which  Francis  Regis  had 
labored  before  him. 

For  eighteen  years,  he  devoted  himself  with  apostolic  zeal 
to  the  evangelization  of  the  south  and  east  of  France,  and  earned 
the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most  illustrious  missionaries 
of  Velay,  Auvergne,  Languedoc  and  Aveyron.27  Not  satisfied 
with  preaching,  he  formed  everywhere  confraternities  of  men 
and  women  on  whom  he  enjoined  the  practice  of  the  spiritual 
and  corporal  works  of  mercy  in  order  that  the  fruits  of  his 
labors  might  be  multiplied  and  perpetuated.28 

In  the  course  of  his  missions,  many  of  which  were  given  in 
the  diocese  of  Le  Puy,  he  met  with  a  number  of  young  women 
who  were  desirous  of  retiring  from  the  world  to  devote  them¬ 
selves  to  the  service  of  God,  but  who,  on  account  of  their 
limited  means,  found  it  difficult  to  provide  the  dowry  required 
by  the  cloistered  orders.29  Father  Medaille,  “appropriating 
one  of  the  dearest  ideas  of  the  holy  founder  of  the  Visita¬ 
tion,”  30  and  desiring  to  see  formed  a  community  of  women  who 
“should  unite  the  life  of  Martha  with  that  of  Mary,  the  ex¬ 
terior  works  of  charity  with  the  repose  of  contemplation,”  31 
conceived  the  design  of  suggesting  to  some  zealous  bishop  the 
establishment  of  a  congregation  in  which  these  women  might 
sanctify  themselves  and  at  the  same  time  serve  God  in  the  per¬ 
son  of  their  neighbor. 

In  the  spring  of  1649,  Father  Medaille  was  called  to  preach 

27  p-  PRAT>  s-  J-  Le  disciple  de  Saint  Frangois  Regis ,  Vie  du  P.  Dauphin. 
p.  180.  Cited  by  bouchage,  op.  cit.,  p.  586. 

28  Ibid.,  p.  586. 

29  Constitutions  pour  la  petite  Congregation  des  Soeurs  de  Saint  Joseph , 
Preface  to  1st  ed.;  Vienne,  1693.  bouchage,  op.  cit.,  p.  590, 

soGUILHEftMY,  S.  J.  0p.  dt.,  p.  63 1 . 

Ibid.,  p  631, 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  HISTORY 


7 


the  Lenten  sermons  in  the  Cathedral  of  Le  Puy.  Knowing  the 
great  charity  of  Bishop  de  Maupas  and  his  zeal  for  God’s  glory, 
the  fervent  missionary  communicated  to  that  prelate  his  ideas 
on  the  subject  of  a  religious  institution.  Bishop  de  Maupas  had 
long  desired  to  see  carried  into  effect  in  his  diocese  the  original 
plan  of  Francis  de  Sales.  He  approved  heartily  the  proposition 
now  made  to  him  of  organizing  a  congregation  of  women  with 
simple  vows  who  should  devote  themselves  to  the  works  of  teach¬ 
ing  and  of  charity ;  and  he  at  once  took  measures  for  its  execu¬ 
tion.  To  Father  Medaille  he  entrusted  the  task  of  bringing  to¬ 
gether  those  who  were  eager  for  a  life  of  retreat,  and  whose 
virtue  and  constancy  had  been  tested.  The  result  was  that  in 
the  summer  of  1650  a  number  of  young  women  assembled  at 
Le  Puy  to  receive  their  spiritual  training  under  the  fatherly 
care  of  Bishop  de  Maupas. 

Owing  to  the  fury  of  the  French  Revolution,  which,  in  the 
destruction  of  so  many  religious  communities,  swept  away  their 
records,  no  account  remains  of  the  individual  lives  or  deeds  of 
these  first  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph.  In  Sister  Fran^oise  Rambion, 
Sister  Jeanne  Pellet,  and  Sister  Franqoise  Allion,  we  have  the 
names  of  those  who,  in  1696,  made  the  original  foundation  in 
Lyons;  and  the  edition  of  the  Constitutions  printed  in  1693  pre¬ 
serves  in  its  preface  the  name  and  the  memory  of  the  early 
benefactress  of  the  Congregation  in  Le  Puy.  This  generous 
woman,  Lucrece  de  la  Planche,  was  the  widow  of  M.  de  Joux, 
a  wealthy  gentleman  of  Tence  in  the  district  of  Yssingeaux. 
During  the  lifetime  of  her  husband,  she  so  devoted  herself  to 
the  poor  of  Tence  as  to  become  “the  visible  providence  of  the 
villagers  by  her  benevolent  and  active  charity.”  32  After  his 
death,  on  account  of  the  greater  spiritual  advantages  to  be  en¬ 
joyed  in  Le  Puy,  she  took  up  her  residence  in  t-hat  city,  and 
continued  to  dispense  there  with  an  open  hand  the  goods  which 
a  kind  providence  had  placed  at  her  disposal. 

To  Madame  de  Joux  the  Bishop  of  Le  Puy  confided  his  project 


32  BOUCHAGE,  op.  tit.,  p.  593. 


8  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

of  inaugurating  a  religious  society ;  and  with  characteristic  great¬ 
ness  of  soul,  she  at  once  offered  him  her  spacious  dwelling  until 
a  more  suitable  place  could  be  provided  for  the  new  community. 
Her  home  thus  became  the  cradle  of  the  Institute,  a  cenacle,  as 
it  were,  in  which  the  young  aspirants,  assembled  from  various 
parts  of  the  diocese,  received  their  first  religious  training. 
During  three  months,  they  were  carefully  instructed  in  the  na¬ 
ture  and  obligations  of  the  new  life  which  they  were  about  to 
embrace. 

Their  probation  ended,  on  October  15,  1650,  feast  of  the  great 
reformer  of  Carmel,  they  knelt  at  the  feet  of  Bishop  de  Maupas 
in  the  chapel  of  the  Orphanage  at  Le  Puy,  and  consecrated  their 
lives  to  the  service  of  God.  The  Bishop  addressed  them  in 
words  of  comfort  and  encouragement,  called  them  “Sisters  of 
Saint  Joseph/’  and  formally  installed  them  in  their  new  home, 
the  Orphanage,  which  he  placed  under  their  direction.  Thus 
their  first  ministrations  as  an  organized  body  were  in  behalf  of 
the  homeless  little  ones  of  Christ.  In  a  short  time,  their  num¬ 
ber  increasing,  the  orphan  girls  of  Mont-Ferrand  were  also 
placed  under  their  tender  care. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Constitutions  were  prepared  by  the  two 
founders  on  the  basis  of  the  Augustinian  Rule  as  elaborated  by 
St.  Francis  de  Sales  for  the  first  Visitandines,  and  supplemented 
by  many  regulations  drawn  by  Father  Medaille  from  the  rule 
of  St.  Ignatius.33  Minute  provision  was  made  for  the  manner 
of  life  and  various  works  of  the  Sisters;  the  name  of  the  Con¬ 
gregation,  the  first  to  be  placed  under  the  patronage  of  Saint 
Joseph,34  was  designated;  and  the  form  of  the  religious  dress 
prescribed.  This  differed  very  little  from  the  habit  worn  at 
present.  It  consisted  of  a  robe  of  black  serge,  plaited  in  front 
and  confined  by  a  cincture.  About  the  shoulders  was  worn  a 

33  The  name  of  Bishop  de  Maupas  alone  occurs  on  the  title  page  of  the 
Constitutions  printed  at  Vienne  in  1693;  but  the  manuscript  edition,  pre¬ 
served  in  Le  Puy,  is  in  the  handwriting  of  Father  Medaille,  who  is  classed 
by  Sommervogel  (op.  cit.,  p.  856)  as  the  author  of  them. 

34  Georges  goyau  in  Catholic  Encyclopedia ,  article  “Le  Puy,”  vol.  IX,  p.  186. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  HISTORY 


9 


folded  kerchief  of  white  linen,  and  on  the  breast,  a  small,  brass- 
bound  crucifix.  The  veil  worn  indoors  was  short,  and  was 
folded  back  upon  itself  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  a  hood. 
When  the  Sisters  went  abroad,  they  added  a  scarf  two  yards 
length,  which  they  threw  over  the  head,  letting  it  fall  on  the 
shoulders,  and  knotting  the  ends  on  the  breast. 

So  successful  were  the  Sisters  in  the  discharge  of  the  first 
duties  assigned  to  them,  that  on  March  io,  1651,  less  than  a  year 
after  its  foundation,  Bishop  de  Maupas  gave  to  the  young  so¬ 
ciety  his  episcopal  approbation.  At  the  same  time  he  recom¬ 
mended  it  to  the  bishops  of  the  neighboring  dioceses  “in  con¬ 
sideration  of  the  great  Francis  de  Sales,  since  it  has  been  estab¬ 
lished  to  revive  the  spirit  of  the  first  institution  which  this 
prelate  made.”  35 

The  Congregation  thus  auspiciously  inaugurated  prospered  be¬ 
yond  the  expectation  of  its  worthy  founders  and  its  first  mem¬ 
bers.  These  could  not  possibly  foresee,  writes  Leon  Bouchage, 
that,  two  centuries  and  a  half  later,  surviving  the  storms  of 
the  great  Revolution,  the  tree  of  which  they  were  the  weak 
roots,  would  spread  its  branches  over  all  of  France,  nearly  all 
of  Catholic  Europe,  and  on  every  continent.36  Father  Medaille, 
continuing  his  missionary  labors  in  the  south  of  France  until 
1672,  did  not  cease  during  that  time  to  take  an  active  interest 
in  what  he  loved  to  call  his  “little  design” ;  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  he  strengthened  it  with  his  prayers  until  his  holy 
death  at  Auch  in  1689.  Madame  de  Joux,  with  extraordinary 
zeal  and  fervor,  devoted  the  remainder  of  her  life  to  its  ad¬ 
vancement;  and  she  had  the  consolation  of  seeing,  within  the 
first  few  years  after  its  foundation,  schools  and  asylums  es¬ 
tablished  successively  in  Saint-Didier,  Tence,  Basen-Basset, 
Dunieres,  Saint-Paulien,  and  Monistrol.37  Bishop  de  Maupas, 

35  p.  f.  lebeurier,  canon  of  evreux,  Vie  de  la  Revet ende  Mere  Saint 
Joseph,  Translation,  New  York,  1876,  p.  68. 

36  Op.  cit.,  p.  12. 

37  bouchage,  op.  cit.,  p.  594. 


IO  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

removed  to  the  see  of  Evreux  in  1661,  bequeathed  his  interest 
in  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  to  his  successor,  Armand  de 
Bethune.  This  prelate  gave  his  approval  to  the  rapidly  growing. 
Congregation  in  1665;  and  in  order  that  it  might  not  lack  a 
legal  status,  he  obtained  for  it  in  the  following  year  letters  pat¬ 
ent  from  the  reigning  King,  Louis  XIV. 

In  addition  to  these  authorizations,  the  Constitutions  received 
the  formal  approval  in  1668  of  Henry  Villars,  Archbishop  of 
Vienne,  into  whose  diocese  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  had  been 
introduced.  Under  his  direction,  the  first  printed  edition  of 
the  Constitutions,  bearing  the  date  November  24,  1693,  was  made 
at  Vienne  from  the  manuscript  copies  in  use  until  then.  Ac¬ 
cording  to  these  Constitutions,  formulated  in  1650  and  observed 
for  one  hundred  and  forty  years,  each  house  was  distinct  and 
independent.  No  provision  was  made  for  a  general  superior, 
assemblies  or  chapters.  Each  community  maintained  its  own 
novitiate,  elected  its  superioress  and  principal  officers,  or,  if  not 
sufficiently  numerous,  received  them  immediately  from  the  bishop. 
The  bishops  were  the  superiors,  each  in  his  own  diocese, 
and  they  appointed  spiritual  fathers,  whom  they  designated  for 
one  or  several  houses.  Each  house  sent  out  from  time  to  time 
new  missions,  which,  when  able  to  maintain  themselves,  were 
independent  of  the  parent  house,  and  which  in  their  turn  gave 
rise  to  other  colonies  under  the  same  conditions. 

In  1693,  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  were  spread  throughout 
the  dioceses  of  Le  Puy,  Clermont,  Grenoble,  Embrun,  Sisteron, 
Viviers,  Usse,  Gap,  Vienne,  and  Lyons.  In  all  of  these  they 
were  successfully  engaged  in  the  instruction  of  young  girls,  the 
direction  of  orphanages,  and  the  care  of  the  sick.  Many  large 
institutions  were  placed  under  their  direction,  among  them  the 
great  Hotel-D.ieu  in  Vienne ;  and  they  continued  to  grow  and  to 
shed  their  benign  influence  until  checked  in  their  prosperous 
career  by  the  fury  of  the  Revolution. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  latter,  Monistrol,  a  beautiful  city  on 
the  Loire  in  the  diocese  of  Le  Puy,  was  the  home  of  a  large  and 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  HISTORY 


ii 


edifying  community  under  the  direction  of  Mother  Saint  John 
Fontbonne.  This  valiant  woman  was  destined  to  play  an  im¬ 
portant  part  in  the  later  history  of  the  Congregation.  She  was 
born  at  Bas,  in  the  department  of  Haute  Loire,  March  3,  1759, 
the  daughter  of  Michel  Fontbonne  and  Jeanne  Theillere,  a  God¬ 
fearing  couple  of  that  place.  Trained  by  pious  parents  from  her 
infancy  in  the  love  and  fear  of  God,  Jeanne,  as  she  was  called 
in  baptism,  was  sent  when  still  very  young  with  an  elder  sister, 
Marguerite,  to  a  convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph,  in  Bas. 
In  this  convent  were  two  of  her  paternal  aunts,  Mother  Saint 
Francis,  the  Superior,  and  Sister  Mary  of  the  Visitation.  Under 
their  careful  supervision,  the  two  girls  were  educated,  and  as 
they  grew  into  young  womanhood,  developed  many  admirable 
traits.  Jeanne,  especially,  bright  and  attractive,  spirited  and 
quick  at  repartee,  but  sweet  and  amiable  in  disposition,  became 
a  favorite  among  her  companions,  who  recognized  her  beautiful 
qualities  of  mind  and  heart.  The  gentle  Marguerite,  devotedly 
attached  to  her  younger  sister,  yielded  in  everything  to  the  latter’s 
superior  judgment. 

Both  were  early  attracted  by  the  beauty  of  the  religious  life, 
and  signified  their  intention  of  taking  upon  themselves  its  obli¬ 
gations.  Of  Jeanne,  Monsignor  de  Gallard,  Bishop  of  Le  Puy, 
remarked  to  Mother  Saint  Francis  on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  to 
the  convent :  “She  is  called  to  do  great  things,  and  will  yet  be 
the  glory  and  the  light  of  your  Congregation.”  38  It  was  Jeanne 
who  broached  to  her  parents  first  the  subject  of  Marguerite’s 
vocation,  then  of  her  own.  The  pious  couple,  resigned  to  the 
departure  of  one  daughter,  wbuld  not  at  first  consent  that  Jeanne, 
who  they  had  hoped  would  be  the  support  and  solace  of  their 
old  age,  should  leave  the  ancestral  home.  Their  great  faith, 
however,  triumphed  over  nature;  and  on  July  1,  1778,  the  two 
sisters,  with  their  parents’  consent  and  blessing,  entered  the 
newly-founded  novitiate  of  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  at  Moni- 

88  abb£  rivaux,  Vie  de  la  Reverende  Mere  Saint  Jean  Fontbonne,  p.  106. 
Grenoble,  1885. 


12 


THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

strol.  They  were  clothed  with  the  religious  habit  on  December 
17  of  the  same  year,  the  elder  receiving  the  name  of  Sister 
Teresa,  the  younger,  of  Sister  Saint  John;  and  together  they 
began  the  long  career  in  the  course  of  which  they  were  to  pass 
through  the  fires  of  persecution,  and  strengthen  and  console 
each  other  until  separated  by  death. 

Their  novitiate  ended,  they  remained  in  Monistrol;  and  in 
October  1785,  Sister  Saint  John,  then  in  her  twenty-seventh 
year,  was  appointed  Superior  of  the  Sisters  in  that  place.  She 
assumed  the  duties  of  this  office  with  reluctance,  feeling  that  her 
youth  and  inexperience  unfitted  her  for  a  position  of  authority. 
She  soon  developed,  however,  more  than  ordinary  talent  for 
administration,  and  won  all  hearts  by  her  sweetness  and  zeal. 
Mother  Saint  John  had  been  governing  the  community  at  Moni¬ 
strol  for  six  years  when  the  effects  of  the  Revolution  were  felt 
in  the  diocese  of  Le  Puy.  The  venerable  Bishop  de  Gallard, 
refusing  to  take  the  civil  oath  required  of  the  clergy,  was  forced 
into  exile  and  took  up  bis  residence  in  Switzerland. 

The  position  of  the  Sisters,  rendered  extremely  difficult  by 
the  loss  of  their  ecclesiastical  superior,  became  one  of  real 
danger  when  the  pastor  of  Monistrol  joined  the  ranks  of  the 
constitutional  clergy,  and  drew  with  him  in  his  defection  many 
of  his  misguided  parishioners.  These  failed  to  understand  the 
attitude  of  Mother  Saint  John,  when,  in  the  name  of  her  com¬ 
munity,  she  refused  to  comply  with  the  civil  regulations.  Re¬ 
peated  attempts  were  made  to  exact  from  her  the  oath  of  allegi¬ 
ance,  but  all  were  alike  fruitless.  At  length,  the  intrepid  Su¬ 
perior,  threatened  with  violence,  deprived  of  sympathy  and  pro¬ 
tection  by  the  blindness  of  those  whom  she  had  so  often  assisted, 
and  fearing  for  the  lives  of  her  Sisters,  persuaded  the  latter  to. 
return  to  their  families,  there  to  await  the  coming  of  better 
times.39  She,  with  two  devoted  companions,  Sister  Teresa  and 
Sister  Martha,  remained  at  the  convent  until  they  were  rudely 
forced  into  the  street.  Their  own  doors  barred  against  them  by 

39  BOUCHAGE,  Op.  tit.,  p.  3 1. 


MOTHER  SAINT  JOHN  FONTBONNE 

1759-1843  . 

(Copy  of  a  portrait  painted  from  life.  Original  in  Mother 

House,  Carondelet.) 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  HISTORY 


13 


the  emissaries  of  the  Revolution,  they  sought  refuge  at  the  Font- 
bonne  home  in  Bas,  which  had  become  a  shelter  for  proscribed 
priests  and  religious.40  Here,  disguised  in  peasant  dress,  for  two 
years  they  gathered  together  the  children  of  the  district  and  in¬ 
structed  them  in  their  religion,  praying  and  trusting  all  the 
while  that  God  would  send  peace  to  His  Church.  In  this  re¬ 
treat,  they  were  discovered  by  their  persecutors  in  the  fall  of 
1793,  and  conducted  to  the  prison  of  Saint  Didier,  twelve  miles 
from  Bas. 

Mother  Saint  John  could  rarely  be  induced,  in  later  years,  to 
speak  of  this  period  of  her  life,  of  the  eleven  months  of  suf¬ 
fering  which  she  and  her  companions  endured  in  damp  cells, 
deprived  of  every  physical  comfort,  and  above  all  of  the  con¬ 
solations  of  religion,  Mass  and  the  Sacraments.  Her  aged 
father,  bowed  with  years  and  grief,  frequently  walked  twelve 
miles  to  bring  them  wholesome  food  and  to  plead  for  their  re¬ 
lease.  They  had  little  hope  of  being  permitted  to  leave  the 
prison,  and  daily  held  themselves  in  readiness  for  death,  not 
knowing  when  they  would  be  summoned  to  the  scaffold.  An¬ 
nouncement  was  at  length  made  to  them  one  evening  in  mid¬ 
summer,  1794,  that  their  execution  would  take  place  the  fol¬ 
lowing  day.  The  night  was  spent  by  them  in  final  preparation 
for  their  approaching  end.  When  morning  dawned,  and  the 
great  doors  of  their  dungeon  swung  open,  their  disappointment 
was  great  to  find  that  freedom  and  not  death  was  waiting  for 
them. 

The  Reign  of  Terror  had  spent  its  force,  and  its  tyrants  had 
become  its  victims.  Robespierre  had  fallen,  and  in  his  death 
many  found  life  and  liberty.  “Oh,  my  Sisters/’  was  Mother 
Saint  John’s  exclamation  on  hearing  the  news  of  their  release, 
“we  were  not  worthy  to  die  for  our  holy  religion;  our  sins  have 
put  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  this  great  favor.”  41  The  crown 
of  martyrdom  for  which  she  longed  fell  to  the  lot  of  many  of 

40rivaux,  op.  cit.,  p.  131. 

41  Ibid.,  p.  142. 


i4  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

her  friends  and  seven  of  her  Sisters  in  other  parts  of  France.42 
In  1793,  on  the  Place  du  Martouret  in  Le  Puy,  Sister  Saint 
Julien  Gamier  and  Sister  Alexis  were  executed;  Sister  Anna 
Marie  Gamier  and  Sister  Marie  Aubert  were  guillotined  in  a 
little  town  of  Haute  Loire  on  June  16,  1794, 43  and  at  Privas, 
August  5,  1794,  Mother  Sainte  Croix  Vincent,  Sister  Madelaine 
Senovert  and  Sister  Marie  Toussaint  Dumoulin,  laid  down  their 
lives  for  the  Faith.44 

Mother  Saint  John  with  her  companions  was  again  received 
with  open  arms  in  her  father’s  home.  She  desired  ardently  to 
collect  her  scattered  community  in  their  convent  at  Monistrol; 
but  she  found  that  this  property  had  been  sold  by  the  govern¬ 
ment,  and  could  not  be  repurchased,  as  the  laws  dispersing  the 
Congregations 45  still  remained  in  force.  For  twelve  years, 
these  three  noble  women  devoted  themselves  to  pious  exercises, 
the  instruction  of  the  ignorant,  and  the  care  of  the  poor  and 
sick,  never  doubting  that  God  would  in  time  repair  the  ruin 
wrought  by  an  irreligious  government. 

They  were  consoled  and  encouraged  in  their  trials  by  Bishop 
de  Gallard,  from  whom  they  received  sympathy  and  advice  in 
a  lengthy  communication  written  from  Switzerland  July  19, 
1798.  He  said  in  part: 

The  distress  in  which  I  see  you,  my  dear  Daughters,  pierces  me 
to  the  heart ;  and  owing  to  my  own  personal  necessities,  I  am  power¬ 
less  to  help  you.  But,  accustomed  as  you  are  to  privations  and 
sacrifices,  practiced  in  imitation  of  our  Divine  Model,  who  had 

42  Mother  Saint  John  noted  down  in  a  little  memorandum  book  the  names 
of  twenty-one  of  her  friends  and  acquaintances,  most  of  them  ecclesiastics, 
who  were  executed  during  her  own  imprisonment. 

43  Probably  Feurs,  as  five  Sisters  were  imprisoned  there. 

44  Annals  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  Le  Puy.  Cited  by  rivaux,  Life  of 
Mother  Saint  John  (Translation,  1887),  p.  96. 

45  On  February  13,  1790,  all  Orders  requiring  solemn  vows  were  abolished 
by  the  state.  In  August  1792,  all  other  Congregations  devoted  to  teaching 
and  charity  ware  abolished,  robinson  and  beard,  Outlines  of  European 
History,  pp.  127,  128.  Boston,  1904. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  HISTORY 


15 


nowhere  to  lay  His  head,  and  penetrated  with  confidence  and  love 
for  our  Heavenly  Father,  who  feeds  the  birds  of  the  air,  you  will 
cast  yourselves  into  the  hands  of  Divine  Providence,  and  await  with 
patience  from  His  infinite  bounty,  the  reward  of  the  sacrifices  which 
you  have  already  made,  and  which  you  are  ready  to  make  again,  for 
His  glory  and  the  sanctification  of  your  lives.  How  holy  and  un¬ 
fathomable  are  the  designs  of  God  in  our  regard,  when  He  has  per¬ 
mitted  impiety  to  violate  the  sanctuaries  of  virginity,  and  to  cast 
forth  their  inmates  into  the  midst  of  a  perverse  and  irreverent  world ! 
Heaven  has  wished  to  make  you  a  spectacle  to  angels  and  to  men. 
God  has  scattered  you,  as  seeds  of  flowers  blown  about  by  the  wind, 
and  He  has  strewn  you  everywhere — in  cities,  in  towns,  in  country 
places — to  diffuse  the  good  odour  of  Jesus  Christ.  Called  to  so  sub¬ 
lime  a  mission,  and  having  proven  yourselves  so  worthy  of  fulfilling 
it  you  give  me  no  cause  to  fear  the  future.46 

After  congratulating  them  on  being  found  worthy  to  suffer 
for  Justice’s  sake,  he  closed  his  admirable  epistle  with  an  ex¬ 
hortation  : 

Let  us  humble  ourselves  under  the  powerful  hand  of  God,  who 
has  visited  us.  Let  us  casf  upon  Him  our  solicitudes  and  our  needs, 
and  in  the  midst  of  our  sufferings  we  shall  find  our  safety,  our 
protection  and  our  strength  in  the  God  of  all  grace,  who  has  called 
us  to  His  eternal  glory  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.47 

46-47  rivaux,  op.  cit.,  Letter  quoted  entire,  pp.  154  ff. 


CHAPTER  II 

RESTORATION  AND  SPREAD  OF  THE  CONGREGATION 

(1807-1835) 

In  the  summer  of  1807,  there  came  to  Mother  Saint  John  the 
opportunity  which  she  had  so  long  desired  of  reassembling  the 
scattered  remnants  of  her  beloved  community.  Six  years  had 
passed  since  religious  worship  had  been  restored  in  France.1 
The  congregations  which  had  been  suppressed  were  returning  to 
their  former  activities,  slowly  at  first  and  tolerated  by  the  govern¬ 
ment  rather  than  authorized  by  it.  In  the  diocese  of  Lyons, 
Cardinal  Fesch,  since  his  elevation  to  that  see  in  1802,  was  zeal¬ 
ously  engaged  in  reviving  the  various  institutes  of  men,  espe¬ 
cially  those  devoted  to  teaching  and  to  the  foreign  missions.2 
Though  Napoleon  declared  these  again  dissolved  after  his  rup¬ 
ture  with  the  Pope,  he  encouraged  the  reconstruction  of  such 
communities  of  women  as  were  engaged  in  teaching  and  active 
work  of  charity.3  The  Sisters  were  not  slow  to  take  advantage 
of  this  concession,  and  by  the  fall  of  1807,  numerous  congrega¬ 
tions  were  in  existence  throughout  France,  either  restored  or  of 
recent  origin. 

The  Cardinal  was  not  ignorant  of  the  good  accomplished  by 
the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  prior  to  the  Revolution;  nor  was 
the  name  unknown  to  him  of  the  former  Superior  of  Monistrol, 
to  whom  life  and  liberty  counted  as  nothing  when  placed  in  the 
balance  against  loyalty  to  God  and  His  holy  religion.  It  was  in 
deference  to  his  expressed  wish  for  the  re-establishment  of  the 

1  The  Concordat  between  Pius  VII  and  Napoleon  I  was  signed  July  17, 
1801. 

2  mgr.  ricard,  Le  Cardinal  Fesch,  p.  62.  Paris,  1893. 

3  georges  goyau  in  Catholic  Encyclopedia,  article  “Napoleon,”  vol.  X, 
p.  690. 

16 


RESTORATION 


l7 


Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  in  his  diocese,  and  in  obedience  to  his 
summons,  that  in  the  summer  of  1807,  Mother  Saint  John,  ac¬ 
companied  by  several  members  of  her  former  community,  re¬ 
paired  to  Lyons.4 

The  first  foundation,  however,  was  not  made  in  his  episcopal 
city,  but  at  Saint  Etienne  in  Forez.  Next  to  the  guiding  hand 
of  Providence,  this  circumstance  was  due  to  the  Reverend  Claude 
Cholleton.  A  native  of  Saint  Symphorien,  this  venerable  priest 
was,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  a  teacher  of  theology 
in  the  Seminary  of  Saint  Charles.  He  proved  himself  a  fear¬ 
less  confessor  of  the  Faith,  and,  refusing  to  take  the  impious 
civil  oath,  was  banished  from  France.  Returning  to  his  native 
land  after  a  brief  exile  in  Italy,  he  was  again  arrested,  and  on 
May  29,  1795,  deported  to  the  island  of  Rhe,5  whither  more 
than  eight  hundred  persecuted  priests  had  preceded  him.6  From 
this  place,  he  soon  made  his  escape,  and  for  several  years  ex¬ 
ercised  the  zeal  of  an  apostle,  laboring  secretly  in  the  moun¬ 
tainous  districts  of  Forez,  and  enduring  all  manner  of  hardships 
that  he  might  avert  the  spiritual  ruin  of  his  countrymen.7  In 
1803,  he  was  pastor  of  one  of  the  largest  parishes  in  Saint 
Etienne. 

Here  he  took  under  his  direction  a  number  of  young  women 
who  were  living  in  community,  and  endeavoring  to  repair  as 
far  as  they  could  by  their  penitential  lives  and  good  works  the 
ravages  caused  to  religion  by  the  fearful  storms  through  which 
it  had  passed.  Without  giving  them  any  set  form  of  rules, 
Father  Cholleton  taught  them  the  way  of  the  spiritual  life, 
directed  their  exercises  of  piety  and  charity,  and  grounded  them 
so  well  in  humility  that  the  ambition  of  each  was  to  be  the  last 
of  all.8  They  occupied  a  modest  house  in  the  Rue  de  la  Bourse 
known  as  the  Maison  Pascal,  from  which  they  went  out  only  on 

4  BOUCHAGE,  Op.  cit.,  p.  46. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  70. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  72. 

7  Ibid.,  p.  72. 

8  BOUCHAGE,  op.  dt.,  p.  1 65. 


i8  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

errands  of  mercy  to  the  poor  and  the  sick.  They  spent  their 
time  in  almost  continual  prayer,  observed  severe  fasts,  slept 
on  hard  pallets,  and  made  frequent  use  of  the  cilice  and  other 
instruments  of  penance.  Their  dress,  secular  rather  than  relig¬ 
ious  in  character,  consisted  of  a  skirt  and  corsage  of  coarse  black 
stuff,  a  serge  apron,  and  a  curious  head-dress  of  cotton  print 
which  fastened  under  the  chin.9  For  want  of  a  distinctive  title, 
they  were  variously  known  as  the  Black  Sisters ,  on  account  of 
the  color  of  their  dress,  and  the  Sisters  of  a  Good  Death,  because 
of  their  zeal  in  procuring  spiritual  comfort  for  the  dying. 

Appointed  Vicar-General  of  Lyons  in  February,  1805, 10 
Father  Cholleton  was  entrusted  with  the  direction  of  the  religious 
communities  of  the  diocese.11  This  was  his  opportunity  to  give 
definite  form  to  the  Society  which  had  claimed  so  much  of  his 
pious  care  and  attention.  Consulting  the  Cardinal  on  the  sub¬ 
ject,  he  was  advised  by  the  latter  to  place  his  Sisters  under  the 
guidance  of  Mother  Saint  John  Fontbonne,  that,  instead  of  form¬ 
ing  a  new  congregation  in  the  Church,  they  might  “reap  the  in¬ 
heritance  of  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph,”  12  by  being  trained 
according  to  the  approved  rules  of  that  institute.  Like  another 
Saint  Francis  de  Sales,  Father  Cholleton  gave  up  his  own  plan 
to  adopt  that  of  the  Archbishop  of  Lyons. 

A  man  of  deep  and  sincere  piety,  and  given  to  the  practice  of 
great  austerity,  he  had  not  spared  the  little  community  of  the 
Rite  de  la  Bourse ,  but  had  accustomed  its  members  to  silence 
and  contemplation,  to  severe  poverty  and  complete  renunciation 
of  self.13  Thus  when  Mother  Saint  John  arrived  at  Saint 
Etienne  on  August  14,  1807,  she  found  not  only  a  field  “white 
for  the  harvest,”  but  a  group  of  laborers  well  disciplined  in  the 
spiritual  life.  The  richest  fruit  of  their  training  appeared  in  the 
readiness  with  which  they  placed  themselves  through  obedience 

9 Manuscript  of  Sister  Louise  Pellet.  Cited  by  bouchage,  op.  cit.,  p.  20. 

10RICARD,  op.  cit.,  p.  124. 

€ 

11  abbe  lyonnet,  Le  Cardinal  Fesch,  vol.  I,  p.  397,  Lyons,  1841. 

12  BOUCHAGE,  Op.  dt.,  p.  75. 

13  Ibid.,  pp.  65,  74. 


RESTORATION 


19 


under  a  strange  Superior,  changed  materially  their  mode  of  life, 
and  adapted  themselves  to  a  less  rigorous  one  than  that  to  which 
their  inclinations  had  led  them.  Another  sacrifice  was  soon  de¬ 
manded  of  them  in  the  loss  of  their  holy  director,  Father  Cholle- 
ton.  He  had  accompanied  the  Cardinal  to  Paris,  where  on 
November  25,  1807,  his  edifying  death  occurred  after  a  week’s 
illness.14  He  was  attended  in  his  last  moments  by  the  Cardinal, 
whom  with  his  dying  words  he  exhorted  to  be  firm,  as  he  feared 
that  the  Church  in  France  had  still  much  to  suffer.15  Cardinal 
Fesch  was  deeply  affected  by  the  death  of  his  vicar,  which  he  con¬ 
sidered  a  personal  loss.16 

Eager  as  Mother  Saint  John  Fontbonne  had  been  to  see  her 
Congregation  again  in  a  flourishing  condition,  it  was  not  without 
some  reluctance  that  she  assumed  the  role  of  second  founder. 
She  realized  fully  the  greatness  of  the  task  before  her,  and  in  the 
low  esteem  in  which  she  held  herself,  felt  diffident  of  her  ability. 
Her  aged  parents,  grief-stricken  at  the  thought  of  parting  with 
her  again,  endeavored  to  dissuade  her  from  her  purpose  of  leav¬ 
ing  them.17  She  had  been  snatched,  as  it  were,  from  the  scaf¬ 
fold  and  placed  in  their  arms,  and  they  had  hoped  to  keep  her 
with  them  as  a  solace  in  their  declining  years;  but  for  her,  the 
voice  of  authority  was  the  voice  of  God.  Her  grace  of  voca¬ 
tion  on  the  one  hand,  and  her  parents’  strong  faith  on  the  other 
triumphed  over  the  sentiments  of  nature,  and  she  answered  the 
call  of  her  ecclesiastical  superiors. 

She  was  strengthened  and  encouraged  on  her  arrival  at  Saint 
Etienne  by  the  devotion  of  her  new  Sisters,  who  received  her 
with  filial  affection,  and  as  time  went  on,  responded  generously 
to  her  training.  On  July  14,  1808,  thirteen  of  the  community 
hitherto  known  as  the  Black  Sisters  received  the  habit  of  the 
Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  in  the  convent  of  the  Rue  de  la  Bourse. 
Among  them  were  Sister  Saint  John  Baptist,  Suzanne  Marcoux, 

14ricard,  op.  cit.,  p.  219. 

15  Ibid.,  p.  219. 

16lyonnet,  op.  cit.,  vol.  II,  p.  118. 

17  rivaux,  op.  cit.,  p.  165. 


20 


THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

daughter  of  a  prosperous  merchant  of  Saint  Etienne,  and  Sister 
Saint  Regis,  Anna  Matrat,  of  La  Valla  in  Forez,  in  whose 
charge  the  fervent  community  had  been  before  the  arrival  of- 
Mother  Saint  John  Fontbonne.18  Both  were  to  prove  strong 
factors  in  fulfilling  the  great  destiny  predicted  on  this  occasion 
by  Father  Piron,  successor  to  Father  Cholleton  as  parish  priest 
of  St.  Etienne,19  for  the  Congregation  thus  revived.  “You  are 
few  in  numbers,”  he  said,  “but  like  a  swarm  of  bees,  you  will 
spread  everywhere” ;  20  and  he  urged  them  to  preserve  the  simpli¬ 
city  and  humility  that  should  characterize  the  daughters  of  Saint 
Joseph.21 

Another  and  larger  convent  was  soon  acquired  in  the  Rue 
Mi-Careme,  where,  in  the  course  of  the  year  1808,  a  chapel  was 
built.  It  was  the  home  of  Mademoiselle  Benneyton,  a  pious 
young  woman,  who  with  a  number  of  her  companions,  entered 
the  Community  and  received  the  habit  on  April  20,  1809.  This 
was  the  third  addition  to  the  Sisterhood,  the  second  having  been 
made  on  January  3  of  the  same  year.  For  eight  years,  the  con¬ 
vent  in  the  Rue  Mi-Careme  remained  the  novitiate  of  Saint 
Etienne,  and  from  it  as  a  center  went  out  numerous  groups  to 
make  new  foundations  or  to  assist  in  reviving  the  old  ones.  In 
less  than  three  years,  Lyons  boasted  three  promising  institutions 
in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph;  Saint  Etienne  and 
Monis'trol  confided  to  them  the  care  of  their  orphans ;  and  the 
schools  of  Valbenoite,  Saint  Chamond  and  Sury-le-Comtal,  each 
received  its  contingent  of  devoted  teachers. 

Privations  and  difficulties  were  waiting  for  the  Sisters  every¬ 
where,  but  sacrifices  were  nothing  to  those  who  had  already  borne 
so  much.  In  old  buildings,  in  abandoned  monasteries  and  dilapi¬ 
dated  chateaux,  they  took  up  their  work  and  carried  it  on  with 
zeal.  At  Sury,  where  M.  Coccard,  the  worthy  cure  who  had 
requested  and  obtained  three  Sisters  for  his  school,  had,  through 

18  BOUCHAGE,  Op.  tit.,  p.  164. 

19  BOUCHAGE,  Op.  dt.  p.  48. 

20BOUCHAGE,  op.  cit.,  p.  48 

21  IBID.  p.  48, 


RESTORATION 


21 


some  inadvertence,  made  no  provision  for  their  shelter,  they 
did  not  disdain  the  offer  of  an  unused  barn,  which  their  willing 
hands  soon  made  comfortable,  and  where,  until  a  more  respec¬ 
table  abode  was  provided,  emulating  the  example  of  their  divine 
Master,  they  literally  slept  on  the  straw  of  the  manger.22 

On  April  io,  1812,  the  Congregation  received  the  authoriza¬ 
tion  of  the  State.23  By  this  time  the  need  was  felt  of  a  gen¬ 
eral  novitate  for  the  uniform  training  of  young  members,  and  a 
central,  or  Mother  House,  from  which  the  work  of  the  Sisters 
might  be  directed  by  a  Superior-General.  The  number  of  con¬ 
vents  was  increasing  rapidly.  In  many  of  these,  the  communi¬ 
ties  were  small;  and  though  all  looked  to  Mother  Saint  John 
Fontbonne  as  the  guiding  spirit  and  inspiration  of  the  whole 
body,  each  house,  as  before  the  dispersion,  was  independent,  had 
its  own  superior,  and  received  and  trained  its  own  subjects. 

Though  the  benefits  of  a  centralized  organization  were  evi¬ 
dent,  the  change  from  existing  conditions  was  made  slowly. 
The  new  idea  required  time  to  materialize.  If  the  reasons  from 
without  which  urged  its  adoption  were  many,  those  from  within 
which  hindered  its  being  acted  on  hastily  were  not  a  few.  Chief 
among  the  latter  was  the  difficulty  of  breaking  away  from  the 
traditions  of  a  century  and  a  half,  during  which  the  older  form 
had  worked  successfully.  The  Revolution  had  shown,  however, 
the  weakness  of  the  small  and  isolated  groups,  and  their  inability 
to  withstand  such  great  force  as  had  been  recently  hurled  against 
them.  Everywhere  was  felt  the  necessity  for  unity  of  effort  and 
direction,  and  objections  to  the  new  order  gradually  gave  way. 
As  to  a  Superior-General,  there  could  be  but  one  choice,  Mother 
Saint  John  Fontbonne,  the  strong-souled  woman  to  whom  the 
Congregation  owed  its  regeneration.  Her  election  was  approved 
by  the  diocesan  authorities,  who  also  designated  Lyons  as  the 
place  of  the  Mother  House  and  novitiate,  both  on  account  of  the 
character  of  that  city  as  a  center  of  religious  activity,  and  the 

22bouchage,  op.  cit.,  p.  85. 

23lebeurier,  op.  cit.,  p.  71. 


22  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

number  of  convents  there  belonging  to  the  Sisters  of  Saint 
Joseph. 

Acting  on  the  advice  of  Reverend  Marie  Claude  Bochard^ 
first  spiritual  Father  of  the  Community,  Mother  Saint  John 
secured  a  building  known  as  the  Chateau  of  Yon  on  the  “hill 
of  the  Chartreux.”  This  hill,  so  called  because  of  an  ancient 
Carthusian  monastery  located  on  its  summit,  was  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Saone,  opposite  the  celebrated  shrine  of  Fourvieres. 
The  chateau  was  formerly  a  dependency  of  the  monastery,  and 
to  it  were  attached  a  court,  extensive  gardens  and  a  granary. 
Confiscated  with  the  monastery  and  sold  in  1791,  the  domain 
passed  through  the  hands  of  various  owners,  until  it  became  the 
property  of  one  Jerome  Nivet  and  his  wife,  Marie  Baland,  from 
whom  it  was  purchased  by  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  June  1, 
1816. 24  On  July  13  of  the  same  year,  Mother  Saint  John,  leav¬ 
ing  the  two  convents  of  Saint  Etienne  in  charge,  the  one  of 
Sister  Gertrude  and  the  other  of  Sister  Ambrose,  and  taking 
with  her  a  few  Sisters,  among  them  her  assistant,  secretary,  and 
mistress  of  novices,  went  to  Lyons.  As  extensive  repairs  had 
to  be  made  on  the  Chateau  of  Yon,  the  Sisters  occupied  for  a 
while  a  part  of  the  old  monastery,  put  at  their  disposal  by  Father 
de  la  Croix;  20  and  pending  the  erection  of  a  chapel,  which  was 
not  completed  until  1824,  the  ceremonies  of  religious  reception 
and  profession  were  held  yearly — the  first  on  December  19,  1816 
— in  the  ancient  church  of  the  Carthusians,  or,  as  it  was  then 
called,  the  Church  of  Saint  Bruno.26 

24  The  sale  was  made  by  Jerome  Nivet  and  Marie  Baland  to  Mesdames 
Jeanne  Fontbonne,  Jeanne  Poitresson-Gonet,  Fleuyre  Seissie,  Marie  Louise 
Parat,  and  Suzanne  Marcoux.  bouchage,  op.  cit.,  p.  51.  The  Chateau  of 
\  on  is  still  a  part  of  the  Mother  House  at  Lyons,  in  the  Rue  des  Chartreux. 

25  One  of  the  first  members  of  the  Society  of  Saint  Irenaeus,  afterwards 
O837)  Bishop  of  Gap,  and  later  Archbishop  of  Auch. 

~6  Ricard,  op.  cit.,  p.  184.  Under  this  name  it  was  restored  to  the  Church 
in  1803.  A  band  of  Missionary  Fathers  was  established  in  the  monastery  in 
1806,  but  was  dispersed  by  Napoleon  in  December  1809  (ricard,  p.  186).  In 
August,  1816,  the  monastery  was  given  by  order  of  the  Cardinal-Archbishop 
to  the  Society  of  Saint  Irenaeus  under  the  direction  of  Father  de  la  Croix. 
ricard,  p.  272. 


RESTORATION 


23 


The  first  Mother  House  was  rich  in  historical  traditions,  and 
in  the  memory  of  the  saintly  men,  sons  of  Saint  Bruno,  who  had 
peopled  its  cloisters  for  centuries;  but  the  Sisters  possessed  little 
of  this  world’s  goods.  Extreme  poverty  was  for  a  long  time 
their  portion.  To  increase  their  revenues,  they  were  even  put 
to  the  necessity  of  weaving  silk,  which  they  received  from  the 
factories,  and  on  which  they  spent  their  few  spare  hours.27 

After  the  appointment  of  John  Paul  Gaston  de  Pins  to  the 
see  of  Lyons  in  1822, 28  Father  Charles  Cholleton,29  nephew  of 
the  former  pastor  of  Saint  Etienne,  was  named  spiritual  director 
of  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  in  the  Archdiocese  of  Lyons. 
Under  his  wise  and  strong  guidance  for  sixteen  years,  the  Con¬ 
gregation  grew  and  prospered.  He  assisted  the  Superior- 
General  in  placing  the  novitiate  on  a  solid  basis,  and  authorized 
a  new  edition  of  the  Constitutions,  which  embodied  the  change 
in  government  and  which  was  printed  at  Lyons  with  the  approba¬ 
tion  of  Monsignor  de  Pins.  The  status  of  the  Congregation 
was  defined  as  diocesan,  with  the  Archbishop  of  Lyons  as  its 
spiritual  head  and  first  Superior.  Under  him  were  the  spirit¬ 
ual  Father,  appointed  from  his  vicars,  and  the  Reverend  Mother 
and  her  council,  elected  by  the  votes  of  the  Sisters  of  the  dio¬ 
cese. 

Mother  Saint  John  Fontbonne,  who  had  practically  governed 
the  Congregation  since  1807,  was  retained  in  office  as  Superior- 
General  until  her  resignation  in  1839,  in  the  eightieth  year  of 
her  age.  With  infinite  tact  and  patience,  she  had  worked  to 
bring  about  the  complete  unification  of  her  Congregation.  She 
visited  all  the  communities,  wherever  located,  sometimes  travel¬ 
ling  incognito,  and  everywhere  winning  confidence  by  her  knowl- 

27  rivaux,  op.  cit.,  p.  194. 

28  RICARD,  Op.  Cit.,  p.  355. 

29  A  native  of  Marcel  de  Feline,  he  pursued  his  studies  at  the  Seminary 
of  Saint  Irenaeus  in  Lyons  and  Saint  Sulpice  in  Paris;  and  after  his  ordina¬ 
tion  at  Grenoble  in  1811,  was  successively  professor  at  Saint  Irenaeus  and 
director  of  the  Grand  Seminary.  In  1840,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Mary  at  Belley.  bouchage,  op.  cit.,  p.  68. 


24  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

edge  of  affairs  and  wide  experience.  Her  simple  piety  gained 
all  hearts,  and  her  reputation  for  holiness  of  life  attracted  many 
to  the  novitiate  on  the  hill  of  the  Chartreux.  This  was  to  her  a 
garden  of  delight.  No  amount  of  fatigue  or  labor  on  her  part 
interfered  with  her  conferences  to  the  novices.  The  favorite 
subject  of  her  discourses  was  the  love  of  God  for  them  in  calling 
them  to  His  service.  Instances  are  on  record  of  obstacles  re¬ 
moved  by  her  from  the  path  of  young  girls  who  wished  to  be¬ 
come  Sisters,  and  who,  but  for  her  delicacy  and  forethought, 
would  have  been  obliged  to  remain  in  the  world.30 

It  was  a  subject  of  regret  to  her,  that  Le  Puy,  the  "cradle  of 
the  Institute,”  and  first  home  of  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph, 
remained  outside  of  the  jurisdiction  of  Lyons.  The  Sisters 
there  had  suffered  much  in  the  general  shipwreck  of  religion, 
and  their  convents  were  confiscated.  It  was  not  until  1815  that 
they  succeeded  in  recovering  from  the  Prefect  of  the  Haute 
Loire  one  half-ruined  building,  the  Orphanage  at  Mont-Ferrand. 
The  Superior-General  included  this  house  in  one  of  her  visita¬ 
tions  ;  Father  Cholleton,  consulted  with  Bishop  Bonald  of 
Le  Puy  on  the  subject  which  he,  too,  had  so  much  at  heart; 
but  the  Bishop  preferred  autonomy  for  the  Sisters  of  his 
diocese. 

Chambery  in  Savoy,  and  Bourg  in  the  diocese  of  Belley,  both 
owing  their  origin  to  Lyons,  also  became  important  independent 
centers,  the  separation  in  each  case  being  made  under  the  ec¬ 
clesiastical  superiors.31  Sister  Saint  John  Marcoux  was  the  in¬ 
strument  chosen  by  Providence  to  introduce  the  Sisters  of  Saint 
Joseph  into  Savoy,  whither  she  was  sent  from  Lyons  with  four 
companions  in  August,  1812.  Two  years  later,  she  was  joined 
by  Sister  Saint  Regis,  her  companion  of  the  Rue  de  la  Bourse. 
Chambery  was  at  that  time  a  suffragan  of  Lyons,  and  so  re¬ 
mained  until  Savoy  was  taken  from  France  in  1815  by  the  Con- 

30  abbe  rivaux,  Vie  de  la  Reverende  Mere  Saint  Jean,  p.  215,  216.  Grenoble 
1885. 

31  Irenaeus  Yves  de  Solle,  Archbishop  of  Chambery;  Alexander  Raymond 
Devie,  Bishop  of  Belley. 


RESTORATION 


25 


gress  of  Vienna  and  given  to  Italy.32  The  difficulty  of  keep¬ 
ing  up  relations  between  Lyons  and  Chambery  under  the  changed 
conditions  caused  Mother  Saint  John  to  consent  to  the  erection 
of  a  novitiate  in  the  latter  place.33  The  Holy  See,  by  a  Bull  of 
July  17,  1817,  recognizing  Chambery  as  a  city  of  the  Sardinian 
states,  made  it  the  seat  of  an  Archdiocese; 34  and  the  formal  sep¬ 
aration  of  the  communities  took  place,  though  mutual  friendly  re¬ 
lations  never  ceased  to  be  maintained.  Political  difficulties  kept 
the  Lyons  Sisters  out  of  other  parts  of  Italy.  Fifteen  Sisters, 
ready  to  leave  Lyons  for  Rome  in  July  1824  at  the  request  of 
Pope  Leo  XII,  made  through  his  Secretary  of  State,  Cardinal 
Somaglia,  were  stopped  on  the  eve  of  their  departure  by  a  letter 
received  from  the  Cardinal  Secretary,  informing  Mgr.  de  Pins 
that  the  French  government  “saw  with  uneasiness  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  the  Sisters  (in  Rome)  in  which  it  discovered  the  hand 
of  Cardinal  Fesch,”  then  a  resident  of  Rome,  and  a  persona  non 
grata  to  the  civil  authorities  at  Paris.35  The  convents  in  Italy 
owe  their  foundation  to  Chambery,  which  also  sent  laborers  to 
Annecy. 

Belley,  which  welcomed  Mother  Saint  Joseph  Chanay  and  a 
small  community  of  Sisters  from  Lyons  in  1819,  was  erected 
into  a  diocese  in  1823  under  Bishop  Alexander  Raymond  Devie. 
The  novitiate  established  there  was  afterwards  removed  to  Bourg 
and  gave  rise  to  a  flourishing  community.  Mother  Saint  Joseph, 
called  to  Bordeaux  by  Cardinal  Donnet  in  1840  in  order  to 
make  a  new  foundation  there  under  great  difficulties  and  in  very 
trying  circumstances,  was  assured  by  the  venerable  Cure  of  Ars, 
whom  she  visited  on  her  way  from  Lyons,  that  if  miracles  were 
necessary  for  the  success  of  her  mission,  God  would  surely  work 
them.36  When  this  saintly  man  learned  a  few  years  later  how 

32  Joseph  lins.  Catholic  Encyclopedia,  article  “Savoy,”  vol.  XIII,  p. 
493- 

33bouchage,  op.  cit.,  p.  175. 

34  LINS,  op.  cit.,  vol.  XIII,  p.  507. 

35  BOUCHAGE,  op.  cit.,  p.  265. 

S6lebeurier,  op.  cit.,  p.  270. 


26  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

the  Sisters  were  prospering  in  Bordeaux,  he  promised  to  pray 
for  their  continued  success.37  To  these  prayers,  no  doubt,  it  was 
due  that  Mother  Saint  Joseph’s  administration  was  “signalized 
by  wisdom,  and  visibly  assisted  by  Heaven’’;  38  so  much  so  that 
her  remarkable  life  drew  from  her  biographer  the  explanation 
that  the  grace  of  God  is  the  divine  element  which  “diffuses  in 
our  minds  lights  superior  to  those  of  reason,  opens  our  intellect 
to  the  understanding  of  divine  mysteries.”  39  He  continues: 

The  most  lowly  Christian  is  favored  with  intimate  and  super¬ 
natural  communications  from  God;  and  daily  facts  prove  the  working 
of  prodigies  by  the  Creator  for  the  good  of  the  creature.  The  graces 
of  the  sacraments  are  standing  miracles.  It  is  then,  a  strange 
illusion  and  an  unjustifiable  mode  of  reasoning  that  directs  the 
skeptic  of  the  age  to  reject  the  belief  in  miracles,  apparitions, 
ecstasies  and  extraordinary  communications  from  God.40 

Mother  Saint  John  Fontbonne,  in  her  declining  years,  could 
look  back  on  the  marvellous  growth  of  her  Congregation  from 
its  humble  home  in  the  Rue  de  la  Bourse  to  two  hundred  con¬ 
vents  which  she  had  been  instrumental  in  founding  in  thirteen 
departments  of  France.41  The  Departments  of  the  Loire  and 
the  Rhone  claimed  the  greater  number  of  these;  and  Corsica, 
Herault,  La  Vendee,  Poiteau,  Aude,  the  Lower  Alps,  Creuse, 
Saone-et-Loire,  Isere,  Cote  d’Or  and  Allier  each  had  its  com¬ 
munity  of  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph.  In  1836,  the  first  foreign 
mission  band  left  the  Mother  House  at  Lyons  for  America. 

37  Ibid.,  p.  318. 

38  Letter  of  Cardinal  Donnet  to  Abbe  Lebeurier,  in  Life  of  Mother  Saint 
Joseph  (Bordeaux,  1869),  p.  3. 

39  LEBEURIER,  Op.  cit.,  p.  12. 

40  Ibid.,  p.  13. 

41  Constitutions  des  Sceurs  de  Saint  Joseph  de  Lyon.  Preface  to  edition 
printed  at  Lyons  in  1910,  p.  VIII. 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 
CHESTNUT  HILL.  MASS. 


CHAPTER  III 

BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  IN  AMERICA 

(1836-1839) 

The  first  foundation  of  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  in  the 
New  World  was  made  in  the  Diocese  of  St.  Louis.  This 
diocese  in  1836  comprised  all  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Iowa  and  the 
Indian  territories  between  the  Missouri  line  and  the  Rocky  Moun¬ 
tains.  It  included  also  the  jurisdiction  of  western  Illinois.1  The 
white  population  of  the  diocese  centered  about  Saint  Louis  and 
was  largely  French.  On  the  outskirts  of  the  vast  domain  were 
scattered  numerous  Indian  tribes,  whose  forefathers  of  a  century 
and  a  half  past  had  been  brought  into  contact  with  Christian 
civilization  through  French  missionaries  and  explorers.  Fol¬ 
lowing  in  the  wake  of  Father  Marquette  and  his  heroic  compan¬ 
ions,  settlers  from  Canada  had  made  homes  in  the  midst  of  the 
natives  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan  and  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  Mississippi  as  far  south  as  central  Illinois. 

The  French  founders  of  St.  Louis,  directing  their  small 
boats  up  that  river  from  New  Orleans  in  1763,  found  many 
evidences  of  the  spiritual  empire  planted  by  the  sons  of  Saint 
Ignatius  and  the  Quebec  priests  a  century  before,  and  kept  alive 
at  the  cost  of  much  suffering  and  hardship.  At  Sainte  Gene¬ 
vieve,  the  northernmost  white  settlement  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  river,  was  stationed  the  aged  Jesuit,  Father  Sebastian  Louis 
Meurin,  one  of  two  priests  in  all  Upper  Louisiana.  Left  alone 
in  1765  by  the  death  of  Father  Luke  Collet,  a  Recollect,  Father 
Meurin  petitioned  the  Bishop  of  Quebec  for  assistance,  and  in 
the  meantime,  until  the  arrival  of  Father  Pierre  Gibault  in  1768, 

1  john  rothen steiner,  in  Illinois  Catholic  Historical  Review,  article,  “The 
Diocese  of  St.  Louis  under  Bishop  Rosati,”  vol.  II,  October.  1919,  p.  177. 

27 


28  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

extended  his  ministrations  to  the  villages  of  Illinois.2  The 
principal  of  these  were  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia  and  Prairie  du 
Rocher.  Six  miles  above  Kaskaskia  and  perilously  near  the 
water’s  edge,  arose  the  stone  walls  of  Fort  Chartres,3  which  pro¬ 
tected  under  the  flag  of  France  the  neighboring  church  of  Sainte 
Anne  and  the  numerous  settlements  that  had  been  springing  up 
since  1720  in  the  shade  of  the  old  fortress. 

The  transfer  by  France  of  Louisiana  to  Spain  and  the  Illinois 
country  to  England  took  place  in  1763.  Thus  St.  Louis,  le¬ 
gally  Spanish  from  its  foundation  in  the  following  year,  became 
in  17704  part  of  the  diocese  of  Havana.  French  and  Spanish 
people  and  customs  mingled  under  the  new  regime  for  twenty- 
three  years;  and  in  1793,  the  newly  erected  diocese  of  New 
Orleans,  which  included  all  of  Louisiana,  claimed  the  growing 
town  on  the  Mississippi.5  Another  change  of  both  civil  and 
religious  authority  took  place  when  the  United  States  purchased 
Louisiana  in  1803,  and  that  great  territory  came  under  the  juris¬ 
diction  of  Baltimore. 

The  see  of  New  Orleans  remained  vacant  until  1812.  In 
that  year,  Valentine  Du  Bourg,  a  native  of  San  Domingo,  was 
appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Consecrated  in  Rome  in  1815,  he 
spent  two  years  in  Europe  in  the  interests  of  his  large  diocese.  It 
is  worthy  of  note  that  while  visiting  Lyons,  he  enlisted  the  aid  of 
a  charitable  woman,  Madame  Petit,  who  later  associated  herself 
with  Mademoiselle  Jaricot  in  a  society  for  the  support  of  the 
foreign  missions.6  Of  this  organization,  known  as  the  Society 

2  shea.  Life  of  Most  Reverend  John  Carroll ,  p.  545,  New  York,  1888. 
clarence  walworth  alvord,  The  Illinois  Country,  vol.  I,  p.  269.  Spring- 

field,  1920. 

3  Destroyed  in  the  summer  of  1727  by  an  inundation  of  the  Mississippi. 
ALVORD,  op.  cit.,  vol.  I,  p.  I57. 

4  Year  in  which  Spain  took  formal  possession. 

5  shea.  op.  cit.,  p.  570. 

6  shea,  History  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States,  vol.  II, 
p.  361. 

Cf.  edward  john  hickey,  ph.  d..  The  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Faith.  Its  Foundation,  Organization  and  Succesc,  pp.  16-22.  Catholic  Uni¬ 
versity  of  America,  Studies  in  American  Church  History,  1922. 


BEGINNINGS  IN  AMERICA 


29 


for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,  Father  Cholleton,  spiritual 
Father  of  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph,  was  an  active  member. 
Bishop  Du  Bourg  brought  with  him  to  America  several  Vincen¬ 
tian  Fathers,  among  them  Joseph  Rosati,  destined  to  fill  an  im¬ 
portant  role  in  the  history  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States 
as  the  first  Bishop  of  Saint  Louis.  That  see  was  created  by  the 
division  of  the  diocese  of  New  Orleans  in  1826. 

Bishop  Rosati  needed  priests  and  funds.  In  his  necessity, 
he  appealed  to  Father  Cholleton  to  act  as  his  foreign  Vicar- 
General.  The  office  of  such  a  vicar  was  to  represent  the  inter¬ 
ests  of  the  diocese  to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Faith,  and  to  secure  subjects  for  the  missions,  as  appears  from 
Father  Cholleton’s  letter  of  acceptance : 

It  is  in  quality  of  your  vicar  that  I  shall  appear  at  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,  and  that  I  shall  obtain  from  it, 
I  hope,  abundant  help.  I  no  longer  doubt  but  that  Mgr.  de  Pins 
will  send  you  subjects  whom  the  Lord  will  deign  to  call  in  His 
mercy  to  the  great  work  of  the  missions  of  Louisiana.7 

Father  Cholleton  was  also  requested  to  procure  aid  for  cer¬ 
tain  convents  in  America  by  directing  to  them  the  attention  of 
young  French  girls  who  might  wish  to  devote  themselves  to  the 
“salvation  of  poor  American  souls,”  8  for  which  purpose  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  French  language  was  deemed  an  important  quali¬ 
fication.  In  1834,  he  first  broached  to  Mother  Saint  John  Font- 
bonne  the  question  of  sending  some  of  her  Sisters  to  the  mis¬ 
sions  of  Missouri.  The  presence  of  Father  Odin  in  Lyons  that 
year  had  directed  attention  anew  to  the  foreign  field.9  Both 

7  Father  Cholleton  to  Bishop  Rosati,  May  27,  1827.  St.  Louis  Diocesan 
Archives. 

8  Father  Odin ,  C.  M.  to  Father  Cholleton.  Annals  of  the  Propagation  of 
the  Faith,  Nov.  1827. 

9  Father  Odin,  later  Bishop  of  Galveston,  Bishop  Rosati’s  theologian  at  the 
Second  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1833,  was  commissioned  to  bring  its  de¬ 
cisions  to  Rome  for  approval.  He  spent  two  years  in  Europe,  and  visited 
Lyons  before  returning  to  America.  Annales  de  la  Propagation  de  la  Foi. 
No.  36,  p.  126. 


3o  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

clergymen  communicated  with  Bishop  Rosati  on  the  desira¬ 
bility  of  having  a  community  of  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  in 
the  diocese  of  St.  Louis. 

Back  of  this  project  was  Madame  de  la  Roche jaquelin,  a  de¬ 
voted  friend  of  Mother  Saint  John  and  her  Congregation.  This 
truly  Christian  gentlewoman  was  the  daughter  of  the  Duchesse 
de  Duras  of  Usse  in  Touraine.  Married  when  very  young  to 
a  Vendean,  the  Prince  of  Talmont,  she  was  left  a  widow  at  the 
age  of  seventeen,  inheriting  her  husband’s  estates.  On  the  death 
of  her  mother,  she  fell  heir  also  to  the  family  estate  in  Touraine. 
Both  here  and  in  La  Vendee,  she  maintained  schools  for  her 
tenantry  under  the  direction  of  the  Sisters  from  Lyons,  and 
assisted  Mother  Saint  John  materially  in  other  foundations  in 
Angers,  Poitiers,  and  Lugon,  besides  giving  aid  to  the  missions 
in  Chambery,  Annecy,  and  Denmark.10  She  espoused  the 
cause  of  an  old  and  distinguished  royalist  family  by  a  second 
marriage  with  Auguste,  Count  de  la  Roche  jaquelin,  the  youngest 
of  three  brothers,  two  of  whom,  Henry  and  Louis,  distinguished 
themselves  in  the  Vendean  wars  against  the  National  Conven¬ 
tion.11  After  the  Revolution  of  1830  and  the  abdication  of 
Charles  X,  political  difficulties  involving  the  confiscation  of  a 
large  portion  of  her  patrimony  induced  Madame  de  la  Roche- 
jaquelin  and  her  husband  to  take  up  their  residence  in  Switzer¬ 
land.  Here  the  worthy  couple  devoted  their  time  and  means 
to  the  relief  of  the  poor,  dispensing  in  charitable  undertakings 
all  that  was  not  necessary  for  their  own  maintenance.12 

Madame  de  la  Roche  jaquelin  was  a  generous  contributor  to 
the  Foreign  Mission  Society,  and  deeply  interested  in  the  in- 

10  Lyons  Correspondence.  Archives  of  Mother  House,  Carondelet. 

11  Henry  was  killed  Jan.  28,  1794  at  Nouailles,  leading  the  remnant  of  his 
army.  Cf.  mme.  de  la  rochejaquelin,  (Victoire  de  Donnissan),  Memoires, 
Paris  1823.  Translation,  Philadelphia  1826,  p.  360.  Victoire  de  Donnissan, 
widow  of  the  Marquis  de  Lescure,  married  Louis  de  la  Rochejaquelin,  who 
died  a  few  days  before  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  June  1815,  at  the  head  of  a 
new  Vendean  army  raised  to  oppose  Napoleon,  l.  i.  guiney.  Monsieur  Henri, 
p.  1 15.  New  York,  1892. 

12  Lyons  Correspondence.  Archives  of  Mother  Houst,  Carondelet. 


JOSEPH  ROSATI.  FIRST  BISHOP  OF  ST.  LOUIS 

I789-1843 


BEGINNINGS  IN  AMERICA 


3i 


struction  and  conversion  of  the  Indians.  '‘The  reading  of  the 
admirable  accounts  of  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  has  made  me 
shed  tears  over  those  harvest  fields  so  ripe,  but  for  which  there 
are  no  reapers,”  she  wrote  to  Bishop  Rosati,13  renewing  to  him 
an  offer  previously  made  to  Fathers  Odin  and  Cholleton  of  de¬ 
fraying  the  expense  of  establishing  a  community  of  the  Sisters 
of  Saint  Joseph  for  missionary  work  in  the  diocese  of  St. 
Louis.  This  offer,  she  explained,  was  in  fulfillment  of  a  prom¬ 
ise  which  she  had  made  to  God,  since  she  had  been  “protected 
by  Divine  Providence  in  an  extraordinary  manner  in  all  the 
difficulties  and  anxieties  to  which  she  had  been  exposed.”  14 
Bishop  Rosati,  in  agreeing  to  the  proposal,  expressed  the  desire 
that  some  Sisters  also  be  sent  who  would  undertake  the  future 
instruction  of  deaf-mutes.15 

As  this  phase  of  teaching  had  not  been  resumed  by  the  Sisters 
of  Saint  Joseph  after  the  Revolution,16  none  of  the  community 
in  Lyons  were  familiar  with  the  method.  Sister  Celestine  Pom- 
merel  and  Julie  Fournier,  a  postulant,  were  accordingly  sent  to 
Saint  Etienne  to  learn  the  sign-language  from  the  Sisters  of 
Saint  Charles,  the  only  community  in  the  diocese  of  Lyons  en¬ 
gaged  in  teaching  the  deaf. 

From  the  remaining  volunteers  for  the  American  mission,  six 
were  selected :  Sisters  Febronie  and  Delphine  Fontbonne,  nieces 
of  the  Superior-General,  Sister  Marguerite-Felicite  Boute,  Sis¬ 
ter  Febronie  Chapellon,  Sister  Saint  Protais  Deboille  and  Sister 
Philomene  Vilaine.  The  eldest,  Sister  Felicite  17  was  thirty-one 
years  of  age;  the  youngest,  Sister  Saint  Protais,  a  novice,  was 

13  Letter  dated  June  10,  1835,  Archives  of  Saint  Louis  Diocese. 

14  Ibid. 

15  “I  had  written  to  Father  Cholleton,  Vic.  Gen.  of  Lyons,  that  I  would  re¬ 
ceive  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  into  my  diocese  with  the  greatest  pleasure.” 
Diary  of  Bishop  Rosati,  March  5,  1836. 

10  Prior  to  that  event,  they  conducted  in  Lyons  a  school  for  deaf-mutes. 
BOUCHAGE,  op.  dt.,  p.  21. 

17  Felicite  was  added  to  Sister  Marguerite’s  name  at  the  request  of  Mme. 
de  la  Rochejaquelin  (Felicite  de  Duras),  and  by  this  name  alone  Sister  was 
generally  known. 


32  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

twenty-one.  Sister  Philomene,  Anne  Vilaine,  was  a  postulant 
when  she  offered  herself  for  the  foreign  mission  field.  The 
day  before  the  departure  of  the  Sisters  from  Lyons,  January 
3, 18  1836,  she  received  the  habit.  Bishop  Brute  of  Vincennes, 
Indiana,  who  was  on  his  way  to  Rome  “to  place  himself  and 
the  new  diocese  of  Vincennes  in  the  heart  of  the  Holy  Father,”  19 
assisted  at  this  ceremony.  He  entrusted  the  Sisters  with  a  letter 
to  Bishop  Rosati,  commending 

the  good  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  who  unite  their  zeal  and  charity 
with  that  of  the  worthy  Father  Cholleton,  with  whom  I  visited  them 
this  morning  and  received  the  vows  and  vestitures  of  a  large 
number  of  subjects.  I  was  very  much  edified  by  that  holy  house. 
I  could  not  see  them  go  toward  your  shore  without  seizing  the 
opportunity  of  expressing  to  you  my  most  respectful  attachment.20 

Archbishop  Gaston  de  Pins  further  recommended  “this 
evangelical  colony”  21  to  the  charitable  solicitude  of  the  Bishop 
of  Saint  Louis :  “They  will  be  excellent  catechists,  good  in- 
firmarians  for  the  sick,  perfect  sacristans,  and  zealous  instruc¬ 
tors;  and  their  services  cannot  but  promote  powerfully  the  work 
of  God  in  your  diocese.”  22 

On  the  evening  of  January  3,  the  six  Sisters  made  their  fare¬ 
well  visit  to  the  Archbishop  and  received  his  blessing.  They 
were  accompanied  by  Father  James  Fontbonne,  brother  of  Sis¬ 
ters  Febronie  and  Delphine,  who  had  also  volunteered  for  the 
foreign  field,  and  was  “full  of  zeal  for  the  missions  across  the 
ocean.”  23  They  repaired  the  following  morning  for  Mass  and 
Communion  to  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  of  Fourvieres,  whither 

18  St.  Joseph’s  day  was  observed  in  Lyons  on  this  date.  Letter  of  Sister 
Delphine  to  Bishop  Rosati,  Dec.  21,  1828.  Archives  of  St.  Louis  Diocese. 

19  Bishop  Brute  to  Bishop  Rosati,  Jan.  3,  1836.  Diocesan  Archives. 

2°  Ibid. 

■21-22  j  p  Gaston  de  Pins  to  Bishop  Rosati,  Jan.  1,  1836.  St.  Louis  Dio¬ 
cesan  Archives. 

23  Ibid. 


BEGINNINGS  IN  AMERICA 


33 


Mother  Saint  John  had  preceded  them.  They  found  her  pros¬ 
trate  before  the  altar  in  her  favorite  shrine,24  praying  for  our 
Blessed  Mother’s  protection  on  their  voyage.  Thus  fortified 
by  the  blessings  of  their  superiors  and  the  prayers  of  their  com¬ 
panions,  and  armed  with  indomitable  courage,  the  members  of 
the  little  band  turned  their  faces  westward.  The  peril  of  an 
ocean  voyage  lay  before  them,  and  the  unknown  dangers  of  the 
American  forest.  Behind  were  home,  friends,  and  the  calm 
convent  life  hitherto  undisturbed;  but  the  missionary  spirit  that 
was  agitating  the  Old  World  had  penetrated  their  hearts, 
from  which  the  hardships  of  the  future  were  mercifully  con¬ 
cealed. 

Many  accounts  are  on  record  of  the  sorrowful  leave-taking; 
the  souvenirs  of  medals  and  pictures  thrust  into  their  hands  by 
the  companions  whom  they  were  leaving;  the  vain  attempt  to 
steal  away  from  their  loved  Superior-General,  then  in  her  seventy- 
seventh  year,  to  spare  her  the  pain  of  parting;  the  smile  that 
broke  through  tears  when  one  of  the  Sisters,  feigning  gayety, 
assured  her  fellow-travellers  that  they  were  only  going  “to  take 
a  little  ride.”  25  They  left  Lyons  by  stage,  January  4,  1836, 
and  the  first  pause  in  the  “little  ride”  that  was  to  end  on  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi  was  made  at  Paris.  Here  a  few 
days  were  spent  with  the  Daughters  of  Saint  Vincent  de  Paul. 
The  church  of  Our  Lady  of  Victory  and  the  Hotel-Dieu  were 
among  the  places  visited  in  Paris.  January  9  found  our  travel¬ 
lers  at  Havre,  where  they  spent  eight  days  at  the  hospitable  home 
of  one  Madame  Dodard,  awaiting  the  sailing  of  the  Heidelberg. 
Here  they  were  joined  by  another  companion  of  their  voyage. 
This  was  a  young  theologian  from  the  Grand  Seminary 

24  During  an  insurrection  in  1830,  Mother  Saint  John  braved  the  soldiery 
who  had  made  this  shrine  a  fortress,  and  insisted  that  a  priest  be  allowed 
to  remove  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  She  herself  carried  away  from  the  sa¬ 
cristy  the  sacred  vessels  and  altar  furnishings  to  save  them  from  profana¬ 
tion.  s.  j.  northcote.  Celebrated  Shrines,  p.  189. 

25  Journal  of  Sister  Saint  Protais.  Community  Archives. 


34  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

of  Lyons,  John  Escoffier,  recommended  to  Bishop  Rosati  by 
Father  Cholleton  for  his  “piety,  talents,  and  good  strong 
character.”  26 

On  January  17,  the  Heidelberg  left  Havre,  and  from  its  deck 
the  Sisters  watched  the  receding  shores  of  their  native  land, 
which  four  of  them  were  not  to  see  again.  Few  incidents 
marked  the  long  journey  of  forty-nine  days,  during  which  they 
kept  up  as  far  as  possible  the  routine  of  convent  life.  One  little 
occurrence  illustrates  the  spirit  of  personal  sacrifice  which  ani¬ 
mated  our  pioneer  Sisters.  On  a  certain  day,  while  all  were  on 
deck,  one  of  the  band,  clasping  a  well  worn  book  of  devotion, 
exclaimed  with  much  earnestness  that  she  could  not  live  without 
it.  “You  could  not  live  without  it?”  came  in  tones  of  gentle 
reproach  from  Mother  Febronie,  the  Superior ;  and  taking  the 
treasured  volume,  she  threw  it  into  the  ocean,  the  owner,  mean¬ 
while,  giving  no  sign  of  her  dismay.  A  new  one  was  immedi¬ 
ately  produced  from  Father  Fontbonne’s  ample  portmanteau; 
but  the  lesson  was  not  lost  on  the  young  religious,  who  after 
breaking  the  dear  ties  of  home  and  country,  found  herself  still 
clinging  to  the  thumbed  pages  of  an  old  book. 

Many  pleasant  hours  they  spent  together  on  deck,  marvelling 
at  the  wonders  of  the  deep  and  admiring  its  magnificence.  A 
severe  illness  of  M.  Escoffier,  which  brought  him  to  the  point 
of  death,  gave  them  an  opportunity  under  the  direction  of  two 
American  physicians  returning  from  Europe,  of  exercising  their 
sk'ill  as  nurses.27  Their  destination  and  mission  interested  the 
passengers  on  board,  and  the  captain  was  exceedingly  kind  and 
solicitous  for  their  comfort.  Near  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  a  storm 
arose,  and  for  hours  it  seemed  as  if  the  ship  must  succumb  to 
the  violence  of  the  waves  or  be  dashed  against  the  reefs.  The 
Heidelberg  weathered  the  storm,  however,  and  on  March  !5 
reached  the  port  of  New  Orleans  in  safety.  In  thanksgiving, 
Mother  Febronie  promised  to  add  to  the  evening  prayers  said 

26  Letter  of  Jan.  2,  1836.  St.  Louis  Diocesan  Archives. 

27  Sister  Saint  Protais  Journal.  Archives,  Carondelet. 


BEGINNINGS  IN  AMERICA  35 

in  common  the  hymn  Ave  Maris  Stella  for  the  safety  of  those 
travelling  on  land  or  sea.28 

The  Sisters  were  met  on  landing  by  Reverend  Father  Moni, 
pastor  of  the  Cathedral  in  New  Orleans,  and  conducted  to  the 
Ursuline  Convent,  “where  they  were  very  lovingly  received.'’  29 
On  the  following  day  they  were  visited  by  Bishop  Rosati,  in 
company  with  Bishop  Blanc  of  New  Orleans.30  “I  told  them 
(the  Sisters)”  recorded  Bishop  Rosati  in  his  diary  of  March  6, 
1836,  “about  their  future  home  in  the  town  of  Cahokia,  in  a 
house  which  Father  Doutreluingue  has  prepared  for  the  purpose 
not  far  from  the  parish  church,  and  of  another  now  ready  in 
the  town  of  Carondelet.” 

During  their  two  weeks'  stay  in  New  Orleans,  the  Sisters 
yielded  to  the  wishes  of  their  kind  hostesses,  the  Ursulines,  and 
disguised  their  religious  habit  whenever  they  went  abroad,  don¬ 
ning  on  those  occasions  the  cap  and  heavy  veil  worn  by  widows 
of  that  time.  The  reason  for  this  was  that  otherwise  they 
might  be  taken  for  nuns  escaped  from  their  convent.  It  was 
a  subject  of  no  little  wonder  to  them  that  such  a  precaution 
should  be  deemed  necessary  in  America.  The  fear  was  not  un¬ 
reasonable,  however,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  two  years  had  not 
yet  elapsed  since  the  Ursuline  Convent  of  Charlestown,  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  had  been  plundered  and  burned.31  The  same  disguise 
was  observed  on  board  the  steamer,  George  Collier,  on  which 
they  travelled  from  New  Orleans  to  St.  Louis. 

They  left  New  Orleans  at  noon,  March  15.  The  other  mem- 

28  This  custom  was  observed  in  the  Congregation  until  1908,  when  Pope 
Pius  X  obliged  the  omission  of  all  community  prayers  not  specified  in  the 
Constitutions. 

29  Diary  of  Bishop  Rosati,  March  5,  1836.  St.  Louis  Diocesan  Archives. 

30  Bishop  Rosati  was  in  New  Orleans  for  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Blanc 
November  22,  1835,  and  remained  until  the  following  March,  cf.  shea.  His¬ 
tory  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States,  vol.  II,  p.  672. 

31  Mother  Saint  Charles,  Superior  of  the  Ursulines,  writing  from  New 
Orleans  December  2,  1919,  says:  “The  advisibility  of  Religious  travelling 
disguised  at  that  time  (1836)  was  not  due  to  any  hostility  at  New  Orleans, 
but  to  the  fear  of  being  insulted  elsewhere  by  non-Catholics.” 


36  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

bers  of  the  party  besides  Father  Fontbonne  and  M.  Escoffier 
were  Bishop  Rosati  and  Father  John  Timon,  future  Bishop  of 
Buffalo,  who  had  been  in  New  Orleans  in  the  capacity  of  visitor 
of  the  Congregation  of  the  Mission.32  The  trip  lasted  ten  days. 
At  every  landing  along  the  route,  crowds  gathered  on  the  river 
bank  to  view  the  steamer  and  return  the  curious  gaze  of  the 
passengers.  The  negro  children,  whose  kinky  heads,  faces  like 
polished  ebony  and  broad  grins  were  much  in  evidence,  interested 
the  Sisters,  who  were  now,  for  the  first  time,  seeing  them  in  large 
numbers. 

Towards  six  o’clock  on  the  afternoon  of  March  25, 33  the 
travellers  landed  at  St.  Louis.  Their  first  visit  was  to  the 
Cathedral  on  Second  and  Walnut  Streets  to  thank  God  for  their 
Safe  journey.  The  Sisters  were  then  taken  to  the  nearby  hos¬ 
pital  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  Here  they  remained  until  after 
Easter,  and  had  the  great  satisfaction  of  attending  all  the  exer¬ 
cises  of  Holy  Week  in  the  Cathedral.34 

Besides  the  Cathedral,  an  imposing  building  of  classic  de¬ 
sign,35  Saint  Louis  had  no  other  place  of  worship  to  which  the 
public  had  access  except  the  chapel  of  the  Jesuit  College  on 
Ninth  Street  and  Washington  Avenue.36  There  were  few 
Catholic  institutions  in  the  diocese  and  these  were  still  in  their 
infancy.37  Besides  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  who  had  come  from 
Cincinnati  in  1828,  there  were  three  religious  communities  of 
women.  The  Sisters  of  Loretto  had  schools  at  Apple  Creek  and 
New  Madrid,  and  a  school  and  orphanage  at  Bethlehem  near  the 

32chas.  c.  deuther.  Life  and  Times  of  Rt.  Rev.  John  Timon.  D.  D.  p.  55. 
New  York,  1890. 

33  Cf.  Diary  of  Bishop  Rosati,  March  26,  1836.  Archives  of  St.  Louis  Dio¬ 
cese. 

34  Journal  of  Sister  Saint  Protais.  Archives,  Carondelet. 

35  Consecrated  by  Bishop  Rosati,  Oct.  26,  1834. 

36  wm.  walsh,  Life  of  Most  Rev.  P.  R.  Kenrick,  p.  31,  St.  Louis,  1891. 

37  Cf.  Bishop  Rosati  to  Sisters  of  Charity,  Cincinnati.  Letter  cited  by 
sister  m.  mccann,  The  History  of  Mother  Setons  Daughters  vol.  I, 
p.  140.  New  York,  1917. 


BEGINNINGS  IN  AMERICA 


37 


Barrens.38  At  Kaskaskia,  the  Visitandines  from  Georgetown 
were  established  since  1833;  and  in  St  Louis,  the  Ladies  of  the 
Sacred  Heart,  brought  from  France  by  Bishop  Du  Bourg  in  1818, 
were  conducting  an  academy  for  girls  in  that  part  of  the  city 
known  as  French  Town.39  An  orphanage  for  boys  was  in  course 
of  erection  on  Fourth  and  Spruce  Streets,  and  pending  its  com¬ 
pletion,  two  Sisters  of  Charity  with  a  small  number  of  orphan 
boys  were  occupying  a  log  cottage  on  the  edge  of  a  thickly 
wooded  tract  at  Carondelet,  a  small  French  village  six  miles 
south  of  St.  Louis. 

Though  Carondelet  was  destined  to  be  the  future  home  of 
the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph,  their  first  mission  in  America  was 
at  Cahokia,  Illinois.  This  town,  situated  across  the  river  from 
Saint  Louis  and  three  miles  southeast  of  the  center  of  that 
city,  was  one  of  the  five  early  French  villages  40  in  the  Illinois 
country,  and  after  Kaskaskia,  the  oldest  white  settlement  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley.  An  Indian  mission  known  as  the  “Vil¬ 
lage  of  the  Holy  Family  of  the  Caoquias”  41  existed  here  in  1699 
under  the  direction  of  the  Jesuit,  Pierre  Francois  Pinet.42  At 
the  same  time,  the  French  inhabitants  of  the  village  were  at¬ 
tended  by  priests  from  the  Seminary  of  Quebec.43  These 
erected  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Family,  and  received  from  the 
French  government  large  tracts  of  land  known  as  the  Commons, 
some  of  which  went  to  the  support  of  the  Church.44  The  rest 

38  a.  c.  minogue,  Loretto,  Annals  of  the  Century,  pp.  60-84.  St.  Louis, 
1912. 

39  Broadway  near  Chouteau  Avenue. 

40  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia,  Prairie  du  Rocher,  Saint  Philippe  and  Nouvelle 
Chartres  (Fort  Chartres). 

41  stuart  brown  in  Illinois  Catholic  Historical  Review,  article,  “The  Com¬ 
mons  of  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia  and  Prairie  du  Rocher.”  April  1919,  vol.  II, 
p.  408. 

42  Joseph  j.  Thompson,  in  III.  Cath.  Hist.  Review,  Article,  “The  Illinois 
Missions.”  July  1918,  vol.  I,  p.  66. 

43  Ibid.  p.  66.  The  pastors  of  Cahokia  were  Vicars-General  of  Quebec. 
Cf.  alvord,  op.  cit.,  p.  1 15,  ff. 

44  stuart  brown  in  III.  Cath.  Hist.  Review.  Article  cited,  April  1919,  p.  408. 


38  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

was  used  by  the  villagers  as  common  ground  for  farming,  wood¬ 
land,  or  pasture. 

For  over  sixty  years  the  mission  prospered.  The  Indians 
gradually  disappeared,  many  joining  the  neighboring  Kaskas- 
kias  or  the  Delawares  of  Indian  Territory.  Fur  traders  and 
Acadian  exiles  45  filtered  in  to  swell  the  French  and  Canadian 
population.  Reverses  came  with  the  departure  of  the  Quebec 
priests  and  the  loss  of  the  mission  property  in  1765. 46  During 
the  changes  of  government  and  of  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  be¬ 
tween  that  date  and  1826,  Cahokia  was  frequently  left  without  a 
resident  pastor.  The  parish  buildings  fell  into  ruin,  and  the 
church,  destroyed  by  fire  in  1783,  was  not  replaced  for  sixteen 
years.  In  the  meantime  zealous  missionaries  were  not  idle,  and 
the  names  of  Pierre  Gibault,  Paul  de  Saint  Pierre,  Gabriel  Rich¬ 
ard  and  Jean  Olivier  figure  conspicuously  in  the  parish  records. 
The  last  named  in  1799  built  the  church  of  upright  walnut 
logs,47  roofed  with  cypress  boards  on  oak  beams  and  floored 
with  sycamore,  all  produced  from  the  surrounding  forests.  In 
the  beginning  of  Bishop  Rosati’s  episcopate,  owing  to  the  scarcity 
of  priests,  Cahokia  was  hardly  more  than  a  mission  station 
attended  from  St.  Louis.48 

In  1836,  however,  the  Reverend  Peter  Doutreluingue,  of  the 
Congregation  of  the  Mission,  had  been  pastor  for  over  five 
years.  The  Catholic  population,  numbering  several  hundred, 
consisted  of  simple,  pious  people,  proud  of  their  religious  tradi¬ 
tions  and  fond  of  their  French  customs.  One  of  these  was 
the  blessing  of  bread,  which  occurred  on  the  great  feasts,  Christ- 

45  jos.  j.  Thompson  in  III.  Cath.  Hist.  Review.  Article,  “The  French  in 
Illinois.”  July  1919,  p.  27. 

46  This  was  sold,  but  recovered  twenty  years  later,  when  the  village  court 
declared  the  sale  null  and  void.  Illinois  Historical  Collections,  vol.  V,  p. 

564. 

47  Frederick  beuckman,  History  of  the  Diocese  of  Belleville,  p.  7,  Illinois, 
1914*  The  Church  is  still  in  use  as  a  parish  hall. 

48  Bishop  Rosati,  writing  to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith, 
March  21,  1828,  mentioned  Cahokia  and  Carondelet  as  being  attended  by 
the  same  priest. 


BEGINNINGS  IN  AMERICA 


39 


mas,  Easter,  Pentecost  and  the  Assumption.  Great  quantities 
of  small  cakes,  specially  prepared,  were  heaped  on  decorated 
tables  outside  the  altar  rails,  and  after  High  Mass  were  blessed 
and  distributed  to  the  congregation.  This  blessing  also  took 
place  before  the  annual  expedition  of  the  fur  traders  and  trap¬ 
pers  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Among  the  inhabitants  were 
representatives  of  French  families  distinguished  in  the  early 
history  of  the  state,  and  a  few  descendants  of  the  Indian  set¬ 
tlers,  still  wearing  deer-skin  jackets  and  moccasins;  but  the 
majority  of  them  were  French-Canadian  farmers.  All  were 
fairly  prosperous,  and  industriously  cultivated  their  small  hold¬ 
ings.  With  the  help  of  his  parishioners  and  at  the  cost  of  much 
personal  sacrifice,  Father  Doutreluingue  had  secured  a  building 
in  the  center  of  the  village  near  the  church  for  a  convent  and 
school. 

Bishop  Rosati  selected  as  teachers  for  this  school  Mother  Fe- 
bronie  Fontbonne,  Sister  Febronie  Chapellon,  and  Sister  Saint 
Protais.  The  remaining  three,  Sisters  Felicite,  Delphine  and 
Philomene  were  to  remain  in  St.  Louis  until  the  house  in 
Carondelet  was  vacated.  A  small,  neat  cottage  on  the  hospital 
grounds,  facing  Third  Street,  was  put  at  their  disposal,  and 
for  the  next  six  months,  they  devoted  themselves  diligently  to 
the  study  of  English.  Mother  Febronie,  the  Superior  of  the 
Cahokia  mission,  was  the  daughter  of  Claude  Fontbonne,  only 
brother  of  Mother  Saint  John,  and  of  Franqoise  Plenet.  She 
was  born  at  Bas,  February  n,  1806,  and  entered  the  Congre¬ 
gation  at  Lyons,  where  she  made  her  vows  in  1822  at  the  age 
of  sixteen.  For  some  years  previous  to  her  departure  for 
America,  she  was  engaged  in  teaching  the  novices  at  the  Mother 
House.  She  was  small  in  stature,  and  of  delicate  constitution, 
little  suited  to  the  rigor  of  the  new  climate ;  but  she  had  volun¬ 
teered  with  great  ardor,  and  her  courage  inspired  others,  compel¬ 
ling  their  love  and  confidence.  Sister  Febronie  Chapellon,  a 
native  of  Valbenoite,  was  twenty-six  years  of  age,  and  is  de¬ 
scribed  as  a  woman  of  great  personal  charm,  an  efficient  teacher, 


4o  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

and  a  devoted  religious.  Sister  Saint  Protais,  the  only  mem¬ 
ber  of  her  family  to  leave  their  native  place  at  Genas,  where  her 
father,  John  Baptist  Deboille,  was  in  very  prosperous  circum¬ 
stances,  was  ready  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  her  twenty-one 
years  to  devote  the  rest  of  her  life  to  converting  the  Indians. 

On  April  7,  at  nine  o’clock  in  the  morning,  the  three  Sisters, 
accompanied  by  Bishop  Rosati  and  Father  Fontbonne,  left  St. 
Louis  by  boat  for  Cahokia,  where  they  “were  welcomed  as  an¬ 
gels  from  heaven.”  49  On  the  Illinois  shore  of  the  Mississippi, 
they  found  Father  Doutreluingue  and  a  numerous  concourse 
awaiting  them.  The  villagers  had  come  on  foot  and  on  horse¬ 
back,  in  carts  and  wagons,  to  meet  the  new  comers  and  escort 
them  to  their  home  through  the  woods  that  covered  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Bottom,  as  the  lowland  between  the  river  and  Cahokia  was 
then  called.  It  was  noon  when  they  reached  the  church,  to 
which  their  first  visit  was  made.  A  repast  was  spread  for  them 
in  the  wide  passage-way  that  served  for  a  dining  hall  in  the 
two-room  rectory.  The  only  recorded  item  of  the  simple  bill 
of  fare  is  corn  bread,  manifestly  new  and  strange  to  their 
French  palates.  It  was  Bishop  Rosati  who  conducted  them  to 
the  convent,  located  in  a  four  acre  tract  opposite  the  church. 

Two  distinct  styles  of  building  were  evidently  used  by  the  Ca- 
hokians.50  The  Canadian  consisted  of  upright  logs,  the  inside 
plastered  on  interlaced  willow  twigs;  the  New  Orleans  plantation 
house  was  a  large,  square  frame  structure,  one  and  a  half  or  two 
stories  high,  with  broad  verandas  under  sloping  roofs.  The  con¬ 
vent  comprised  two  buildings,  one  of  each  style.  The  one-room 
log  house  served  for  kitchen  and  dining-room.  The  other  sup¬ 
plied  two  class  rooms  on  the  first  floor,  one  on  each  side  of  a 
broad  hall  running  through  the  center  of  the  building,  and  apart¬ 
ments  for  the  Sisters  on  the  story  above.  St.  Joseph’s  Institute 
was  the  name  given  by  the  Sisters  to  their  convent  and  school,  but 
the  villagers  dignified  it  by  the  name  of  “The  Abbey.” 

49  BEUCKMAN,  Op.  tit.,  p.  9. 

50  Ibid.,  op.  cit.,  p.  8. 


BEGINNINGS  IN  AMERICA 


4i 


Thirty  day-pupils  were  enrolled  at  the  opening  of  school,  a  few 
days  after  the  arrival  of  the  Sisters.  To  this  number  were  soon 
added,  five  boarders.  The  instruction  given  was  entirely  in 
French,51  though  the  majority  of  the  people  spoke  a  Canadian 
patois  rather  difficult  for  the  Sisters  to  understand.  On  May  23, 
to  the  delight  of  all,  the  Bishop  returned  to  give  confirmation  to  a 
class  of  twenty-nine.  The  Sisters  made  many  friends  among  the 
kind-hearted  Cahokians,  who  contributed  in  numerous  ways  to 
their  comfort  besides  warmly  supporting  the  school.  This  grew 
and  prospered  for  eight  years,  though  not  without  some  draw¬ 
backs.  The  country  was  subject  to  almost  yearly  overflows  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  the  unhealthy  character  of  the  place  soon 
became  apparent  to  the  Sisters,  who  suffered  much  during  the 
summer. 

In  June  Father  Doutreluingue  was  recalled  from  parochial 
duty  by  his  superiors  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Mission;  and 
in  his  place  the  Bishop  sent  Father  Matthew  Condamine,  a  zealous 
young  priest  who  had  been  received  into  the  diocese  from  Lyons 
in  1831.  His  energy  and  ability  promised  much  for  the  future  of 
the  parish  and  the  Abbey  school.  He  had  been  scarcely  two 
months  at  his  new  post,  when  he  contracted  a  malignant  fever,  and 
all  efforts  to  save  his  life  were  vain.  His  holy  and  lamented 
death  occurred  on  the  evening  of  August  8,  in  the  presence  of 
Father  Doutreluingue,  who  by  a  special  providence,  was  passing 
through  the  village,  and  hearing  of  the  young  priest’s  illness 
remained  with  him  until  the  end.52 

Bishop  Rosati  came  for  the  obsequies  when  Father  Condamine 
was  laid  to  rest  in  the  little  cemetery  beside  the  church.  None 
of  the  Sisters  were  permitted  to  attend  the  Mass  or  funeral,  all 
of  them  having  been  ill.53  Sister  Saint  Protais  was  seriously 
so ;  and  as  she  was  slow  in  recovering  her  health,  she  was  ordered 
back  to  St.  Louis  by  Bishop  Rosati  in  the  fall,  Sister  Philomene, 

51  The  catalogue  of  1839  (Mother  House,  Carondelet)  also  mentions  Latin. 

52  Community  Annals,  p.  86.  Cf.  rosati,  “Obituary  of  Father  Condamine,” 
Pastoral-Blatt,  Sept.  1917,  p.  142. 

53  Community  Annals ,  p.  57. 


42  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

who  had  come  to  Cahokia  to  take  care  of  the  sick  Sisters,  remain¬ 
ing  in  her  place.  Early  in  September,  Sisters  Delphine  and 
Felicite  had  taken  up  their  abode  in  Carondelet,  and  with  them 
the  invalid,  after  a  brief  period  spent  in  the  Sister’s  hospital,  was 
sent  to  remain  until  she  was  able  to  resume  her  duties. 

Under  the  direction  of  a  new  pastor,  Father  John  Francis  Regis 
Loisel,  the  school  was  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  a  new  room  in 
1837;  and  early  in  1838,  a  pretty  chapel  was  erected  beside  the 
convent.  The  means  fcfr  this  were  supplied  by  Madame  de  la 
Rochejaquelin,  who  had  sent  three  thousand  francs  the  preceding 
year  for  the  missions  of  Cahokia  and  Carondelet.  Mother  Saint 
John  Fontbonne  furnished  candelabra  of  fine  workmanship  and  a 
sweet-toned  bell  cast  in  Lyons.54  Other  generous  benefactors 
were  found  among  the  parishioners,  notably  Mesdames  Turgeon 
and  Boismenu,  also  Madame  Jarrot,  in  whose  home  near  the 
Abbey  Lafayette  had  received  royal  hospitality  on  his  way  to 
St.  Louis  in  1827.  The  chapel  was  blessed  by  Bishop  Rosati 
August  1 7,  1838;  and  on  the  same  day,  Sister  Saint  Protais, 
returned  from  Carondelet,  made  her  vows. 

The  Abbey  with  its  three  buildings  now  presented  an  imposing 
appearance.  The  school  increased  in  numbers  and  popularity, 
and  the  beneficent  influence  of  the  Sisters  was  everywhere  recog¬ 
nised.  They  entered  into  the  simple  life  of  the  people,  instruct¬ 
ing  their  children,  visiting  their  homes  in  sickness  or  trouble, 
and  winning  in  return  affection  and  confidence.  They  shared 
in  the  common  disaster,  when  in  the  great  flood  of  1844,  the 
Mississippi  spread  ruin  and  desolation,  forcing  them  from  their 
convent  to  seek  a  home  with  the  Sisters  by  that  time  well  es¬ 
tablished  in  Carondelet. 

54  Another  bell,  sent  at  the  same  time  for  the  chapel  in  Carondelet,  and 
still  in  use  there,  bears  the  inscription  in  French :  “Presented  by  Mother  St. 
John  Fontbonne,  Superioress  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  and  Sister  Jose¬ 
phine  Vacher,  to  Sister  Delphine  Fontbonne,  Superioress  at  Carondelet. 
a.  d.  1838. 

Gedeon  Morel,  Caster.  Lyons.” 


I 


CHAPTER  IV 

CARONDELET,  MOTHER  HOUSE  OF  THE  CONGREGATION 

(1836-1839) 

Six  miles  south  of  the  original  site  of  St.  Louis,  the  River 
Des  Peres  empties  into  the  Mississippi.  At  its  mouth,  about 
the  year  1700,  Jesuit  missionaries  made  the  first  settlement  in 
Missouri.1  This  village,  supposed  by  some  to  be  identical  with 
the  village  of  Saint  Francis  Xavier  mentioned  in  the  Jesuit 
Relations  in  1706, 2  disappeared,  leaving  only  the  names  of  the 
founders.  More  than  half  a  century  later,  in  1767,  Clement  Delor 
de  Treget,  a  native  of  Guienne,  France,  explorer  and  former 
officer  in  the  French  army,  left  his  post  in  Sainte  Genevieve,  to 
seek  a  home  farther  up  the  Mississippi. 

Attracted  by  the  beauty  of  the  country  north  of  the  River 
Des  Peres,  he  drew  his  canoe  ashore  where  a  grassy  prairie  about 
four  hundred  yards  in  width  ran  westward,  sloping  gently  to  a 
wooded  plateau  on  the  south.  On  the  north  were  limestone  cliffs 
that  stretched  towards  the  trading  post  established  three  years 
earlier  at  St.  Louis.  He  obtained  a  grant  of  land  from  Louis 
St.  Ange  de  Bellerive,  military  commandant  of  Upper  Louisiana, 
and  began  a  settlement  by  erecting  his  own  house  on  the  low 
ground  near  the  river.  Other  Frenchmen  came  with  their  fam¬ 
ilies,  and  in  a  short  time,  Delor’s  village  of  log  cabins  extended 
for  a  mile  or  more  along  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi.  The 
cabins  were  strongly  built,  the  upright  logs  being  sunk  to  a  depth 

1  louis  houck,  A  History  of  Missouri  from  the  Earliest  Explorations  and 
Settlements  until  the  Admission  of  the  State  into  the  Union,  vol.  I,  p.  242. 
Chicago,  1908. 

2  thwaites’  Jesuit  Relations  and  Allied  Documents ,  vol.  60,  p.  37.  Cleve¬ 
land,  1896-1901.  Cf.  Lawrence  kenny,  s.  j.  “Missouri’s  Earliest  Settlement 
and  Its  Name.’'  St.  Louis  Catholic  Historical  Review,  vol.  I,  p.  154.  St. 
Louis,  1919. 


43 


44  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

of  four  feet  in  the  earth  and  dove-tailed  to  the  heavy  rafters  of 
the  roof.  Barricaded  with  solid  wooden  shutters  for  the  win¬ 
dows  and  ponderous  oak  doors,  each  house  was  a  fortress,  with 
loopholes  on  the  sides.  When  St.  Louis  built  a  stockade  for 
protection  against  the  Indians,  Delor  and  his  neighbors,  each  the 
defender  of  his  own  hearthstone,  laughed  at  the  walled  town  and 
defied  attack. 

In  1805,  the  village  numbered  about  fifty  cabins  with  an 
estimated  population  of  two  hundred,  and  had  several  times 
changed  its  name.  From  Prairie  a  Catalan,  named  from  a 
prominent  resident,  it  became  Louisburg;  and  finally,  in  1796, 
it  received  the  name  Carondelet  in  honor  of  the  last  Spanish 
Governor-General  of  Louisiana,  Baron  de  Carondelet.  The  St. 
Louisans  called  it  Vide  Poche  (Empty  Pocket),  in  the  same 
spirit  of  raillery  which  prompted  the  trappers  of  the  Wabash  to 
fasten  on  St.  Louis  the  name  of  Paincourt  (Short-of-Bread)  .3 
Vide  Poche  is  the  name  by  which  Carondelet  was  commonly 
known  in  1836.  For  several  years  it  had  kept  up  a  friendly 
rivalry  with  its  northern  neighbor ;  but  at  this  date,  with  scarcely 
one-eighth  the  population  of  the  larger  city,  it  had  long  since  given 
up  the  race  for  supremacy,  and  accepted  with  indifference  the 
oft-repeated  verdict  of  its  former  rival,  that  Vide  Poche’s  com¬ 
mercial  aspirations  were  limited  to  the  purchase  of  coffee  and 
violin  strings. 

Its  inhabitants,  now  numbering  several  hundred,  were  still  liv¬ 
ing  in  comfortable  log  cabins  or  low  stone  houses  scattered  along 
the  Mississippi  and  down  Stringtown  Road  (Virginia  Avenue) 
which  ran  past  the  Commons.  The  greater  number  were  very 
poor,  but  they  led  happy,  care- free  lives,  keeping  up  the  rural 
customs  of  their  native  country,  and  industriously  cultivating  the 
strips  of  land  allotted  in  the  common  field  to  each  householder 
of  the  village.  Many  were  employed  in  cutting  wood,  which 
they  carted  to  St.  Louis,  and  disposed  of  for  a  pittance  suf¬ 
ficient  for  their  daily  needs. 

3  EDWARDS  and  hopewell,  The  Great  West,  p.  271.  St.  Louis,  i860. 


CARONDELET 


45 


On  the  high  ground  above  the  village  was  the  log  church  of 
our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel  erected  in  1818,  of  which  Felix 
de  Andreis  had  placed  the  first  post.4  Near  it  was  the  two-room 
rectory;  and  beyond  the  small  graveyard  adjoining  the  church 
lot  on  the  south,  stood  the  log  cottage  built  in  1833  f°r 
Sisters  of  Charity  and  their  orphan  boys.  These  left  on  July  22, 
1836,  for  their  new  orphanage  in  St.  Louis;  and  to  the  humble 
abode  thus  vacated  came  on  September  12  Sister  Delphine  and 
Sister  Felicite.  Sister  Philomene,  the  third  Sister  destined  for 
this  mission,  was,  as  we  have  seen,  temporarily  located  in  Cahokia. 
Sister  Delphine,  though  only  twenty-three  years  of  age  and  the 
youngest  of  the  three,  was  appointed  Superior  by  Bishop  Rosati. 

Beside  their  personal  effects  and  some  bedding,  they  brought 
little  with  them  on  the  long  drive  from  St.  Louis  to  Carondelet, 
which  they  reached  late  in  the  afternoon.  The  pastor,  Father 
Edmund  Saulnier,  shared  with  them  his  supper  of  bread  and 
cheese,  spread  on  a  bare  table,  and  conducted  them  to  the  convent. 
It  faced  the  river,  and  from  the  front  door  a  passage-way  ex¬ 
tended  between  two  rooms  each  fifteen  by  twenty-four  feet.  An 
attic  was  reached  by  a  ladder  from  the  outside.  Two  sheds,  one 
containing  a  single  large  room  which  had  served  as  a  boys’  class¬ 
room,  and  the  other  used  for  store-room  and  kitchen,  completed 
the  convent  buildings.  With  the  exception  of  one  cot,  a  table  and 
a  few  chairs,  the  rooms  were  destitute  of  furniture.  Two  ticks, 
which  the  Sisters  filled  with  straw  and  laid  on  the  floor,  provided 
them  with  beds,  and  the  cot  they  reserved  for  Sister  Saint  Protais, 
who  joined  them  a  few  days  later.  Father  Saulnier,  a  good  but 
eccentric  man,  accustomed  to  the  privations  of  missionary  life, 
frankly  informed  them  that  he  was  poor,  too,  and  that  they  must 
provide  for  themselves.  Kindhearted,  however,  in  spite  of  his 
gruffness,  he  frequently  sent  them  whatever  he  could  spare  from 
his  own  scanty  store.  Charitable  neighbors  came  to  their  assist- 

4  Pastoral-Blatt,  April  1918,  p.  57.  According  to  this  authority,  the  ma¬ 
terial  used  was  from  the  first  Church  in  Saint  Louis,  torn  down  that  year. 
Previous  to  this  date  Mass  was  said  in  Carondelet  in  private  dwellings. 


46  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

ance,  and  with  the  aid  of  these  and  their  own  ingenuity,  they 
were  able  to  provide  the  absolute  necessities  of  life. 

There  was  no  school  of  any  kind  in  the  village.  The  convent 
school  was  announced  to  begin  on  September  19,  a  week  after 
the  arrival  of  the  Sisters.  Twenty  pupils,  girls  and  small  boys, 
responded  the  first  morning,  were  enrolled  and  dismissed,  to 
return  in  the  afternoon,  each  provided  with  a  box,  a  stool,  or  a 
log  of  wood  for  a  seat.  Most  of  them  were  too  poor  to  pay 
tuition,  but  agreed  to  bring  wood  or  provisions  instead.  Madame 
Pourcley,  more  comfortably  situated  than  her  neighbors,  placed 
her  apple  orchard  at  the  disposal  of  the  Sisters,  and  later  sent  her 
daughter  as  their  first  boarder.  On  October  1,  a  poor  villager 
whose  wife  had  just  died,  brought  his  two  little  girls  to  the 
convent,  as  he  had  no  means  of  taking  care  of  them.  Sister 
Delphine  received  them,  the  father  promising  to  contribute  the 
little  that  he  could  towards  their  support.  Two  weeks  later,  two 
orphan  girls  from  St.  Louis  were  received.5 

With  their  number  thus  more  than  doubled,  the  Sisters  had 
hardly  any  visible  means  of  support.  The  winter  was  severe; 
and  though  fuel  was  abundant,  the  log  houses  were  not  always 
impervious  to  wind  or  snow.  It  was  necessary  to  use  the  one 
class  room  which  the  convent  afforded  as  a  sleeping  apartment 
for  the  girls,  who  kept  their  beds  in  the  attic  during  the  day,  and 
brought  them  down  in  the  evening  often  covered  with  snow.  The 
second  room  served  in  turn  the  purpose  of  sitting-room,  parlor 
or  oratory,  and  all  dined  in  the  passage-way.  It  was  not  un¬ 
common  to  see  an  umbrella  perched  over  the  kitchen  stove  as 
a  protection  against  rain  or  sleet,  let  in  through  the  chinks  in 
the  roof. 

Thus  the  first  winter  passed  amid  great  privations;  but  “they 
were  happy  in  their  poverty,”  wrote  Sister  Saint  Protais,  “and 
Providence  did  not  leave  them  without  consolation. ”  6  Their 

5  These  small  beginnings  later  developed  into  the  first  two  orphanages  for 
girls  in  the  Diocese  of  Saint  Louis,  walsh,  Life  of  Most  Reverend  P.  R. 
Kenrick,  p.  44.  St.  Louis,  1891. 

6  diary,  p.  51. 


st.  Joseph’s  academy  and  mother  house,  st.  louis,  Missouri 
(Showing  terraces  on  the  river  front.) 


CARONDELET 


47 


solitude  was  relieved  by  an  occasional  visit  from  Bishop  Rosati, 
who  used  to  walk  the  six  miles  from  the  city,  declaring  that  he 
was  too  poor  to  keep  a  horse.7  Father  Fontbonne,  then  sta¬ 
tioned  at  the  Cathedral  in  St.  Louis,  frequently  came  to  see  his 
sister,  Sister  Delphine,  and  observing  the  great  poverty  of  the 
house,  he  sold  some  fine  paintings  which  he  had  brought  from 
France,  and  gave  the  proceeds  to  the  Sisters.  Bishop  Rosati,  on 
one  of  his  visits,  brought  them  warm  mantles  of  broadcloth, 
which  he  cautioned  them  to  wear  always  in  the  church.  Having 
no  chapel,  they  were  obliged  to  hear  Mass  every  day  in  the  parish 
church,  where  they  formed  the  choir  on  Sundays,  and  were  sac¬ 
ristans  all  the  time.  In  the  latter  capacity,  their  duties  often 
kept  them  hours  in  the  cold  stone  building,  which,  in  the  winter 
of  1836  replaced  the  earlier  one  of  logs.8 

When  the  warm  spring  days  came,  and  the  river  was  clear  of 
floating  ice,  there  were  occasional  visits  to  Cahokia,  when  the 
Sisters  could  summon  the  boatman,  Joseph  Courtois,  to  row  them 
across  the  river.  These  visits  were  always  duly  returned,  and 
constituted  the  one  great  pleasure  of  the  two  communities. 
Mother  Febronie  once  accompanied  the  sisters  back  to  Carondelet, 
and  then  insisted  on  returning  to  Cahokia  alone.  Arrived  at  the 
Illinois  side  of  the  river,  she  missed  the  path  leading  through  the 
woods  to  the  village,  and  wandered  for  hours  without  being  able 
to  find  her  way.  As  the  dusk  of  evening  approached,  chilled  and 
exhausted,  she  took  refuge  in  a  hollow  tree.  Here  she  remained 
until,  hearing  her  name  shouted  by  the  searching  party  which  had 
in  the  meantime  set  out  from  Cahokia  with  torches  and  hunting 
horns,  she  came  out  from  her  hiding  place,  and  was  escorted 
home  half  dead  from  fright  and  exposure.9 

The  Sisters  in  both  Carondelet  and  Cahokia  were  encouraged 

7  Community  Annals,  p.  51. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  91.  The  first  Mass  in  the  stone  building  was  said  Christmas, 
1836.  Sisters  Delphine  and  Felicite  decorated  the  altars  for  the  occasion. 
As  there  was  no  sacristy,  they  hung  up  curtains  of  cheap  print,  cutting  off 
a  portion  of  the  sanctuary  to  be  used  for  a  sacristy. 

9  Community  Annals,  pp.  94-95. 


48  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

in  May  1837  by  the  receipt  of  letters  from  Lyons  announcing  the 
departure  from  that  city  early  in  the  preceding  month  of  Sister 
Celestine  Pommerel  and  Sister  Saint  John  Fournier.  These 
were  bringing  much  needed  help,  and  their  arrival  was  expected 
towards  the  end  of  May.  The  summer  months  passed  without 
any  further  tidings  of  them.  Communication  with  Lyons  re¬ 
vealed  only  the  fact  that  they  had  sailed  from  Brest.  The  ex¬ 
perience  of  the  preceding  year  in  Carondelet  was  such  that  it 
seemed  as  if  the  convent  there  would  have  to  be  abandoned. 
Bishop  Rosati  had  deferred  any  arrangements  for  his  deaf-mute 
school  until  the  arrival  of  the  two  Sisters;  but  now,  as  these  were 
believed  to  have  been  lost  at  sea,  his  cherished  design  also  seemed 
not  destined  to  be  realized. 

To  his  great  joy  and  surprise,  on  September  4,  two  Sisters 
who  had  just  reached  St.  Louis  by  boat  from  New  Orleans 
presented  themselves  at  the  episcopal  residence.  Like  those  who 
preceded  them  in  1836,  they  wore  widows’  bonnets  instead  of 
veils,10  and  the  Bishop  was  at  first  loath  to  believe  that  they  were 
the  long  looked  for  teachers  of  the  deaf.  He  put  them  to  test 
by  requesting  them  to  converse  in  signs.  They  did  so,  and  when 
the  conversation  seemed  to  amuse  them,  he  desired  it  repeated  to 
him.  Sister  Saint  John  had  expressed  a  wish  for  some  of  the 
brown  bread  that  they  had  last  tasted  in  France.  They  brought 
letters  for  Bishop  Rosati,  among  them  the  following  from  Father 
Cholleton,  which  rendered  assurance  doubly  sure : 

It  is  a  very  great  consolation  for  me  to  present  to  your  Lordship 
the  two  Sister  teachers  of  the  deaf-mutes  for  whom  you  asked  me 
last  year.  The  first,  Sister  Celestine  is  twenty-three  years  old  and 
is  professed;  the  second,  Sister  Saint  John,  a  novice  of  twenty-two 
years.  She  will  esteem  herself  happy  to  make  her  profession  in 
your  hands  whenever  you  find  her  sufficiently  disposed.  They  are 
both  animated  by  the  best  dispositions,  and  are  sufficiently  capable 
of  carrying  out  your  noble  and  saintly  views.  Madame,  the  Countess 

10  This  remained  a  custom  with  the  Sisters  in  America,  whenever  they 
were  travelling,  until  i860. 


CARONDELET 


49 

de  la  Roche jaquelin,  has  given  them  3000  francs.  If  you  desire 
to  thank  her  for  it,  her  address  is  Lausanne,  Switzerland.11 

The  weary  and  belated  travellers  were  detained  at  the  orphan 
asylum  in  St.  Louis  for  several  days.  Bishop  Rosati,  evidently 
fond  of  planning  surprises,  sent  no  word  of  their  arrival  to  the 
community  in  Carondelet.  On  September  10,  the  private  con¬ 
veyance  of  a  Catholic  physician,  Doctor  Rodier,  who  was  well 
known  to  Mother  Delphine  and  her  Sisters,  was  secured.  The 
Doctor  was  a  native  of  San  Domingo,  and  had  brought  with  him 
from  there  to  St.  Louis  a  faithful  colored  servant,  familiarly 
known  to  his  patients  as  Black  Margaret.  Besides  being  able 
to  manage  the  Doctor’s  horses  well,  Margaret  possessed  the 
additional  accomplishment  of  speaking  excellent  French.  She 
drove  the  two  Sisters  to  their  new  home,  and  entertained  them 
on  the  way  with  the  history  of  St.  Louis  and  its  environs.  They 
reached  the  convent  during  the  evening  recreation.  The  surprise 
of  the  Sisters  there  on  beholding  in  the  flesh  those  whom  they 
believed  dead  was  scarcely  greater  than  their  wonder  and  amuse¬ 
ment  at  finding  the  two  strangers  better  informed  than  themselves 
about  conditions  past  and  present  in  the  village  of  Vide  Poche. 

The  story  of  their  journey  was  soon  told.  They  had  been 
detained  at  Brest  until  June  5,  awaiting  the  sailing  of  the  French 
frigate,  Hermione,  bound  for  the  West  Indies.  There  was  a 
long  delay  at  Havana  and  another  at  New  Orleans;  and  the 
Sisters,  weary  of  their  three  months  at  sea,  knew  nothing,  of 
course,  of  the  alarm  which  their  failure  to  arrive  earlier  was 
causing  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  To  Mother  Delphine  they 
delivered  Father  Cholleton’s  letter : 

You  will  be  pleased  with  my  promptness  in  sending  you  assistants 
so  zealous,  so  well  instructed,  so  capable  of  aiding  you  as  Sister 
Celestine  and  Sister  Saint  John.  A  great  number,  perhaps  two- 
thirds  of  the  Congregation,  would  like  to  share  the  glory  and  the 

11  Father  Cholleton  to  Bishop  Rosati,  April  5,  1837.  St.  Louis  Diocesan 
Archives. 


50  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

labor  of  your  mission;  but  I  did  not  see  any  other  Countesses  de  la 
Roche jaquelin  who  wished  to  take  on  themselves  the  expense  of  the 
voyage  and  the  first  establishment.  Sister  Saint  John  is  still  a 
novice.  When  she  appears  to  you  sufficiently  tried  and  well  dis¬ 
posed,  ask  Mgr.  Rosati  to  receive  her  vows  himself,  if  his  Lordship 
can.  Follow  the  same  course  in  the  future  for  the  admission  of  the 
subjects  whom  it  will  please  the  Divine  goodness  to  confide  to  you. 
Our  very  dear  Sisters  will  give  you  all  the  news  capable  of  interest¬ 
ing  you  personally.12 

There  were  many  messages,  in  fact,  from  the  dear  ones  in 
France;  and  when  the  great  trunks  from  Lyons  were  emptied  of 
their  abundance — clothing  for  the  Sisters  and  orphans,  fine  things 
for  the  chapel  which  as  yet  existed  only  in  dreams  of  the  future — 
the  Sisters  felt  that  the  great  heart  of  Mother  Saint  John  Font- 
bonne  was  beating  very  near  them,  and  that  the  power  of  her  love, 
bridging  the  ocean,  minimized  the  distance  between  her  and  her 
daughters  in  America. 

The  log  cabin  convent  was  now  crowded,  but  its  doors  were 
opened  wide  in  October  1837  to  admit  another  occupant,  Anne 
Eliza  Dillon,  the  first  American  subject  of  the  Congregation. 
Anne  Dillon  was  the  daughter  of  Patrick  McAndrews  Dillon, 
a  wealthy  Irish  land-holder  of  St.  Louis.  She  was  born  at  Saint 
Charles,  Missouri,  in  1820.  Her  mother  died  when  she  was  a 
child,  and  together  with  a  younger  sister,13  she  was  placed  with 
the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  at  their  Academy  in  St.  Louis, 
where  she  received  an  excellent  education  and  acquired  great 
fluency  in  French.  It  was  here  at  school  in  1836  that  she  met  Sis¬ 
ters  Delphine  and  Felicite,  who  during  their  first  few  months  in 
America  went  every  day  to  the  Sacred  Heart  Convent  for  English 
lessons.14  The  young  girl  was  drawn  irresistibly  to  the  two 

12  Letter  dated  April  5,  1837.  Archives  of  the  Saint  Louis  Diocese. 

13  A  daughter  of  Patrick  McAndrews  Dillon  became  the  first  wife  of  the 
celebrated  Captain  James  B.  Eads. 

14  Madame  Kersaint,  a  cousin  of  the  Countess  de  la  Rochejaquelin,  was  a 
religious  in  this  convent  at  the  time.  She  later  introduced  the  Sisters  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  into  Canada. 


CARONDELET 


5i 

Sisters.  Like  Saint  Francis  of  Assisi,  she  was  attracted  by 
poverty ;  and  on  finishing  her  education,  she  gave  up  everything 
that  she  possessed  of  this  world’s  goods,  and  with  the  reluctant 
consent  of  her  father,  went  to  Carondelet  and  asked  for  the  poor 
habit  of  a  Sister  of  Saint  Joseph.  This  she  received  on  January 
3,  1838,  with  the  name  of  Sister  Francis  Marie  Joseph.  On  the 
same  day,  Sister  Philomene  Vilaine  made  her  vows.  Bishop 
Rosati,  assisted  by  Father  Saulnier  and  Father  Pierre  Chandy, 
of  the  Congregation  of  the  Mission,  officiated  at  the  ceremony, 
which  took  place  in  the  church  of  our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel.15 

In  the  spring,  the  convent  was  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  a  sec¬ 
ond  story,  two  small  rooms  on  the  west  end,  and  broad  porches  on 
the  river  side.  A  covering  of  rough  weather-boards  changed  the 
status  of  the  building  from  a  log  house  to  the  more  pretentious 
frame  dwelling.  Writing  of  conditions  in  America  in  1831,  the 
Dominican  missionary,  Samuel  Mazzuchelli,  mentions  two  modes 
of  building,  “the  Log  House,  that  is  Casa  di  Travi,  which  is  more 
rustic;  the  other  is  rather  fine  and  is  called  Frame  House,  or 
Casa  d'ossatura  di  Train.”  16  Though  the  convent  might  now 
claim  to  belong  to  the  latter  class,  it  left  much  to  be  desired  in  the 
matter  of  comfort,  but  provided  the  necessary  room  for  the 
admission  of  four  deaf-mute  girls.  All  were  more  or  less  de¬ 
pendent  on  charity,  and  the  resources  of  the  convent  were  barely 
sufficient  to  provide  for  six  Sisters,  four  mutes  and  five  orphans. 
An  addition  was  made  to  this  number  in  the  course  of  the  year 
in  the  person  of  Victoire  Cherbonneau,  whose  father,  a  Rocky 
Mountain  trapper,  placed  her  with  the  Sisters  as  a  boarder.  He 
was  killed  by  Indians  soon  after  while  on  a  western  trip,  and 
his  motherless  little  girl  remained  an  inmate  of  the  convent. 

Bishop  Rosati,  aided  by  a  few  of  the  prominent  citizens  of 
St.  Louis,  set  on  foot  a  movement  in  the  summer  of  1838  to 
interest  the  Missouri  Legislature  in  his  plans  for  the  education 
of  the  deaf.  He  was  eventually  successful  in  obtaining  an  ap- 

15  Community  Records,  1836. 

Memoirs,  Historical  and  Edifying  of  a  Missionary  Apostolic.  Transla¬ 
tion  by  sister  benedicta  Kennedy,  o.  s.  d.,  p.  59.  Sinsinawa,  1914. 


52  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

propriation.  In  the  meantime,  the  legislators  petitioned  Congress 
for  a  township  of  land  on  which  to  establish  a  state  school  for 
the  same  purpose.17  In  the  Memorial  addressed  to  Congress  on 
this  occasion,  recognition  is  made  of  the  work  done  by  the  Sisters 
of  Saint  Joseph  in  the  town  of  Carondelet,  although  their  small 
school  had  been  in  operation  less  than  a  year.  “Their  success 
has  been  so  great,  and  their  pupils  have  progressed  so  rapidly, 
that  it  is  manifest  that  funds  applied  in  founding  and  sustaining 
an  asylum  for  the  education  of  these  unfortunate  persons  would 
advance  the  cause  of  humanity.”  18 

The  state  school  did  not  become  a  reality  until  1847;  but  on 
February  13,  1839,  an  appropriation  of  two  thousand  dollars  was 
granted  by  the  legislature  “for  the  annual  tuition  of  such  deaf 
and  dumb  children  now  or  hereafter  received  in  the  deaf  and 
dumb  asylum  at  the  town  of  Carondelet  in  the  county  of  St. 
Louis.”  19  This  fund,  which  did  not  become  available  until  the 
end  of  1839,  was  to  be  administered  pro  rata ,  for  such  pupils  only 
as  were  residents  of  Missouri  and  after  they  had  spent  six  months 
in  school.20  Only  three  of  the  mutes  who  were  in  the  convent  at 
this  time  belonged  to  the  State,  Emily  Johnson  and  Mary  Mus- 
dach  of  St.  Louis,  and  Teresa  Bernard  of  Florissant.  A  fourth, 
Mary  Jane  Hurley,  was  an  orphan,  dependent  on  the  charity  of 
the  Sisters.21 

Before  any  part  of  the  appropriation  materialized,  financial 
assistance  came  from  another  quarter,  and  with  it  a  practical 
recognition  of  the  services  which  the  Sisters  were  rendering  to 

17  The  bill  authorizing  this  petition  was  introduced  Dec.  17,  1838,  and 
adopted  Feb.  8,  1839.  Missouri  Session  Laws,  p.  334. 

18  Mo.  Sess.  Laws,  p.  334.  The  certified  copy  of  this  Memorial  in  the 
Carondelet  Archives  was  furnished  by  the  Hon.  John  L.  Sullivan,  Missouri 
Secretary  of  State  in  1918-20,  a  former  pupil  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  in 
Sedalia,  Missouri. 

19  Mo.  Sess.  Laws,  p.  37.  This  bill  was  repealed  Feb.  16,  1847,  when  a  bill 
introduced  by  one  J.  A.  Broadhead  of  Pike  Co.,  was  approved  to  provide 
for  the  state  education  of  mutes  and  “repeal  the  act  of  1839.”  Missouri  State 
Laws,  p.  48. 

20  Mo.  Sess.  Lazos,  p.  37. 

21  Mother  Celestine  to  Bishop  Rosati,  Oct.  29,  1839.  Diocesan  Archives. 


CARONDELET 


53 


the  village.  For  two  years  they  had  been  teaching  almost  gra¬ 
tuitously  all  the  children  who  came  to  them.  This  number  did 
not  at  any  time  exceed  thirty-eight,  exclusive  of  mutes  and  or¬ 
phans.  Early  in  April,  the  school  commissioners,  Messers 
N.  Paupe  and  Joseph  Le  Blond,  called  at  the  convent  and  made 
an  agreement  with  the  Sisters  which  was  unanimously  adopted 
by  the  Board  of  Trustees  at  their  meeting  on  April  23.  This 
agreement  stipulated  for  a  salary  to  be  paid  the  Sisters  “by  the 
Corporation  of  Carondelet  to  educate  in  the  ordinary  branches  of 
the  English  and  French  languages  the  female  children  of  the  town 
of  Carondelet,  from  six  to  eighteen  years  old.22 

The  salary  so  opportunely  offered  seemed  a  fortune  to  the 
struggling  community,  as  indeed  it  must  have  been,  with  markets 
providing  eggs  three  for  a  penny,  butter  six  cents  a  pound  and 
other  commodities  in  proportion.  Besides,  their  own  carefully 
tended  garden  was  a  summer-long  source  of  supply ;  and  an  or¬ 
chard  of  six  pear  trees,  planted  by  the  pioneers  in  1836  and 
dedicated  with  mock  ceremony  to  themselves — a  tree  to  each — 
was  beginning  to  bear  the  luscious  fruit  which  it  continued  to 
produce  for  over  fifty  years.23  Had  they  been  worldly  wise  they 
would  have  followed  the  suggestion  of  a  practical-minded  Sister 
and  opened  a  bank  account ;  but  theirs  was  the  wisdom  of  the 
Gospel,  and  their  surplus  capital  was  invested  in  small  luxuries 
for  the  poor  and  sick  whom  they  met  on  their  daily  rounds  of 
charity. 

The  action  of  the  trustees  followed  shortly  after  a  mission 
given  to  the  French  settlers  of  Carondelet  by  Bishop  Loras  of 
Dubuque  and  Reverend  Joseph  Cretin,  future  Bishop  of  St.  Paul. 
These  were  on  their  way  to  Dubuque  from  France,  where  the 
former  had  gone  after  his  consecration  in  Mobile  in  December 
1837.  They  arrived  at  St.  Louis  from  New  Orleans  by  way  of 

22  Extract  from  the  minutes  of  the  Board  of  Trustees’  meeting,  Apr. 
23,  1839.  At  the  same  meeting  the  services  of  Hamilton  Michaud  were  ac¬ 
cepted  as  “assistant  school-master”  for  the  boys.  The  salary  given  the 
Sisters  was  $375  annually. 

23  The  last  of  these  trees  was  destroyed  by  a  storm  in  the  summer  of  1889. 


54  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

the  Mississippi  in  the  fall  of  1838,  and  finding  further  travel 
northward  blocked  by  ice,  they  were  obliged  to  spend  the  winter 
with  Bishop  Rosati.  The  mission  lasted  three  weeks,  during 
which  the  Bishop  and  his  companion,  on  account  of  the  poor 
accommodations  at  the  tiny  rectory,  dined  every  day  at  the  con¬ 
vent,  which  had  at  least  the  advantage  in  number  and  size  of 
rooms.  Sister  Philomene  was  distressed  at  first  that  she  could 
not  provide  plate  and  viands  worthy  of  a  Monseigneur ;  but  she 
soon  found  out  that  the  monseigneur  was  a  missionary  bishop, 
accustomed  as  such  not  only  to  partaking  of  homely  fare,  but 
to  preparing  it  on  occasion  for  himself.  Her  cook  book  was 
richer  when  he  left  by  many  simple  recipes  which  he  dictated, 
among  them  "bouillon  without  meat.”  The  Sisters  spent  part 
of  this  precious  time  of  grace  making  their  own  spiritual  retreat, 
after  which  they  had  an  outlet  for  their  zeal  in  instructing  and 
preparing  for  baptism  a  number  of  adults,  converted  during  the 
mission. 

The  burden  of  office  bore  heavily  on  Sister  Delphine  under 
the  trying  circumstances  depicted  in  the  preceding  pages.  When 
her  term  of  three  years  expired  in  August  1839,  she  begged  to 
be  relieved,  and  was  appointed  as  an  assistant  teacher  in  Cahokia. 
The  American  population  was  increasing  there,  and  before  she 
took  up  her  new  duties,  she  spent  some  time  studying  English 
with  the  Visitandines  at  Kaskaskia.  She  was  succeeded  by 
Mother  Celestine  Pommerel,  whose  appointment  by  Bishop 
Rosati  as  Superior  of  the  Congregation  in  the  diocese  of  St. 
Louis  was  made  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  authorities  at  the 
Mother  House  in  Lyons. 


CHAPTER  V 

st.  Joseph’s  academy,  first  missions  in  st.  louis 

(1840-1846) 

Mother  Celestine,  Marie  Pommerel,  was  born  April  7, 
1813,  at  Feillan,  in  the  Department  of  Ain,  France.  She  was  the 
eldest  of  four  children  (three  daughters  and  one  son)  of  Andre 
Pommerel  and  Louise  Pommiers.  This  deeply  religious  couple 
possessed  wealth  and  culture,  and  gave  their  children  every  ad¬ 
vantage  which  these  could  procure.  Marie  was  educated  by  the 
Sisters  of  St.  Charles  at  Macon,  and  became  greatly  attached 
to  her  teachers.  She  early  felt  the  call  to  a  religious  life;  but 
in  following  out  her  vocation,  preferred  to  join  a  Sisterhood  more 
distant  from  her  home.  Following  the  advice  of  a  Jesuit  con¬ 
fessor,  she  entered  the  Congregation  of  Saint  Joseph  at  Lyons. 
Here  she  received  the  habit  May  19,  1831,  and  made  her  vows 
two  years  later. 

During  her  novitiate  she  had  often  expressed  a  desire  to  devote 
her  life  to  missionary  work  in  the  New  World.  Sisters  were 
wanted  for  the  St.  Louis  Diocese,  and  Sister  Celestine  was  one 
of  the  first  selected  from  the  volunteers  for  the  distant  mission. 
In  view  of  the  work  to  be  done  there  among  the  deaf-mutes,  she 
was  detained  a  year  in  France  to  perfect  herself  in  the  method 
of  teaching  them.  Her  pious  parents,  grieved  at  the  prospect  of 
her  leaving  France,  endeavored  by  every  tender  means  in  their 
power  to  dissuade  her  from  offering  herself  for  the  foreign  field; 
but  when  she  remained  firm  in  her  resolution,  they  resigned 
themselves  to  the  separation  which  they  felt  would  be  final. 

Mother  Celestine  is  described  as  “a  model  of  womanly  grace, 
slightly  above  middle  height,  of  a  dignified  bearing,  fair  com¬ 
plexion,  with  broad,  high  forehead,  blue-gray  eyes,  large  but 

55 


56  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

well- formed  mouth  and  firm  chin.  Her  countenance  was  open 
and  serene,  her  voice  sweet  and  pleasing.  Her  simplicity  and 
gentleness  won  all  who  came  in  contact  with  her.”  1  With 
gentleness  she  combined  firmness,  and  with  sweetness,  great 
strength  of  character  and  rare  executive  ability.  She  was  in 
her  twenty-seventh  year  when  placed  in  charge  of  the  Congrega¬ 
tion  in  America,  which  numbered  after  three  years,  only  eight 
professed  members  and  three  novices.  Four  of  the  former  were 
in  Cahokia,  the  others  in  Carondelet,  where  they  were  still  poorly 
housed. 

The  “main  building”  of  the  convent  was  a  two-story  log  house 
(weather-boarded),  with  two  rooms  on  the  ground  floor,  one  of 
which  served  as  office,  sitting  room,  or  oratory  for  Sisters  and 
children.  The  upper  story,  reached  by  a  ladder  from  the  outside, 
contained  two  sleeping  rooms.  In  the  rear  on  the  ground  floor 
were  two  small  apartments,  study  and  class  rooms  combined. 
All  this  belonged  to  a  vanishing  era.  A  spirit  of  progress  was 
invading  the  old  French  town. 

Writers  of  Carondelet  history  divide  it  into  ancient  and  modern 
periods,  distinguished  one  from  the  other  by  the  different  styles 
of  architecture  in  vogue  at  different  times.  The  modern  period 
was  ushered  in  by  the  building  of  brick  houses  in  the  early  forties 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  though  many  of  the  log  huts  had 
already  given  place  to  others  of  native  stone.  One  of  the  first 
of  these  modern  houses  was  commenced  by  Mother  Celestine 
during  1840,  when  on  a  ground  story  of  stone,  she  ran  up  two 
of  brick.  It  was  north  of  the  frame  structure,  which  it  adjoined, 
and  consisted  of  a  parlor,  infirmary  and  girls’  refectory  on  the 
first  floor,  chapel  and  study  hall  connected  by  folding  doors  on 
the  second,  and  dormitories  on  the  third.  Mrs.  Mullanphy  of 
St.  Louis  was  a  generous  contributor  to  this,  the  nucleus  of  St. 
Joseph’s  Academy,  which  was  at  first  known  as  “Madame  Celes- 
tine’s  School.” 

It  was  ready  for  use  in  the  spring  of  1841  and  formed  the 

1  Community  Annals,  p.  332. 


MOTHER  CELESTINE  POMMEREL 
1813-1857 

(From  an  old  painting  in  Carondelet.  The  form  of  habit 
is  that  originally  worn  by  our  Sisters  in  France  and  in 
America.) 


57 


ST.  JOSEPH'S  ACADEMY 

north  wing  of  the  large  convent  completed  by  successive  additions 
during  the  next  few  years.  Between  1841  and  1846,  a  parallel 
wing  went  up  on  the  south,  and  a  central  one  connecting  these 
two  replaced  the  frame  building  removed  to  another  part  of  the 
grounds.2  A  large  building  loan  was  furnished  to  Mother  Celes- 
tine  in  1842  by  Archbishop  Kenrick,  then  coadjutor  of  St. 
Louis ;  and  a  block  of  ground  next  to  the  convent  property  on  the 
south,  bought  at  public  auction  by  Bryan  Mullanphy,  was  given 
to  the  Sisters  on  December  23  of  the  same  year  as  a  Christmas 
present. 

In  the  fall  of  1840,  with  prospects  of  a  new  and  comfortable 
convent  in  the  very  near  future,  seven  boarders  were  received. 
These  were  Eliza  Ruhland,  Mary  Anne  Prigott,  Elizabeth 
Le  Beau,  and  Mary  Eliza  McKenney,  of  St.  Louis ;  Elizabeth 
Coffin,  daughter  of  Major  Coffin  of  Jefferson  Barracks;  Ophelia 
Butler  of  Cahokia,  and  Adelia  Flandrin  of  Carondelet.  All  were 
large  girls  of  seventeen  years  or  over  except  Mary  Eliza  McKen¬ 
ney,  then  in  her  ninth  year.  Her  mother,  the  widow  of  a  West¬ 
moreland,  Virginia,  gentleman,  wishing  the  child  to  acquire  a 
French  education,  was  recommended  to  Mother  Celestine  by 
Bishop  Rosati.  Mary  Eliza  remained  six  years  with  the  Sisters, 
kept  in  close  touch  with  them  until  her  marriage  in  1853  and 
subsequent  removal  to  Vincennes,  and  has  left  interesting  mem¬ 
oirs  in  manuscript  of  the  early  days  of  St.  Joseph’s  Academy. 

Our  first  Sisters  in  America  live  again  in  the  pages  of  these 
memoirs,  all  “lovable  women,  their  sweet  simplicity  of  manner 
captivating  our  hearts,  and  so  attaching  us  to  them  that  when 
our  yearly  vacation  came,  we  grieved  at  parting  from  them  as 
if  it  were  forever.”  3  As  they  pass  in  review,  the  idolized 
Mother  Celestine,  sweet  Sister  Felicite,  Sister  Saint  Protais, 
“always  finding  excuses  for  our  failings,”  Sister  Philomene, 

2  In  the  winter  of  1845,  before  its  removal,  this  was  partially  destroyed  by 
fire.  The  loss  was  defrayed  by  a  collection  taken  up  Dec.  22  in  the  Cathedral 
of  St.  Louis. 

3  Memoirs  of  eliza  mckenney  brouillet,  p.  25.  Manuscript  in  Carondelet 
Archives. 


58  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

whose  fairy  tales  were  the  delight  of  her  small  charges,  grave 
and  silent  Sister  Saint  John,  and  the  three  who  came  on  rare  and 
pleasant  visits  from  Cahokia,  it  is  easy  to  appreciate  the  respon¬ 
sive  chord  which  they  awakened  in  the  hearts  of  their  pupils, 
one  of  whom,  no  doubt,  spoke  for  all  when  she  wished  for 

the  tongue  of  a  Chrysostom,  or  the  loving  heart  of  Saint  John  and 
a  diamond-pointed  pen  to  pay  a  fitting  tribute  to  these  great  souls — 
great  in  their  humility  and  self-sacrifice;  great  in  their  zeal  for  the 
well  being  of  those  under  their  care ;  great  in  their  voluntary  and 
lifelong  exile  in  a  strange  land  for  the  love  of  their  Divine  Master.4 

The  winter  of  1840-41  was  severe,  and  all  sufifered  much,  for 
the  poor  house,  according  to  the  memoirs, 

offered  a  good  target  to  the  cold  winds  that  held  high  carnival  in 
our  dormitory,  especially  during  snow  storms ;  and  many  a  night 
did  those  dear,  self-sacrificing  pioneers  spend  the  time  shaking  the 
snow  from  our  beds.  We  had  only  to  speak,  and  we  would  have 
been  taken  to  our  homes,  where  comfort  reigned,  and  want  was 
never  known ;  but  St.  Joseph’s  had  a  charm  for  us  that  was  not 
easily  broken,  and  we  felt  a  pleasure  in  sharing  the  privations  of 
our  Sisters.5 

The  commencement  exercises  of  1841  were  held  in  the  new  con¬ 
vent.  The  boarders  had  increased  to  twelve;  and  the  pupils  all 
told  numbered  ninety-four.  The  vacations  were  short,  as  school 
closed  the  first  week  in  August  and  reopened  in  September; 
“still  no  vacation  was  permitted  to  pass  by  without  our  going 
to  spend  days  with  the  Sisters  before  returning  for  the  next 
term.”  6 

The  language  of  the  school  was  French,  in  which  most  of  the 
instruction  was  given,  Sister  Francis  Marie  Joseph,  or  as  she 
was  called,  Sister  Mary  Joseph,  being  at  first  the  only  English 

4  Ibid.,  p.  35. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  17. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  25. 


59 


ST.  JOSEPH’S  ACADEMY 

teacher.  A  homelike  atmosphere  was  cultivated,  and  the  only 
discipline  was  one  of  love.  Mother  Celestine’s  cheery  morning 
visit  to  the  study  hall  was  looked  for  eagerly  each  day;  and  the 
greatest  penalty  inflicted  for  wrong  doing  was  the  look  of  sorrow 
which  she  cast  upon  the  culprit,  whose  offence  was  not  likely  to 
be  repeated.7  On  free  days  there  were  excursions  to  the  Red 
Bridge  over  the  River  Des  Peres,  always  in  company  with  the 
Sisters;  or  to  the  woods  near  “Grandfather”  Poupeney’s,  where 
a  merry  crowd  enjoyed  the  freedom  of  his  orchard  and  the  fresh 
loaves  baked  by  Madame  for  “her  children.”  There  were  weekly 
errands  of  charity  when  some  privileged  girl  was  allowed  to 
carry  for  Sister  Felicite  or  Sister  Saint  John  the  small  hamper 
containing  medicine  or  soothing  cordials  to  the  poor  and  sick.8 
The  great  feast  loved  by  all  was  Corpus  Christi,  with  its  annual 
procession  from  the  church  through  the  cemetery  and  convent 
grounds  to  the  altar  erected  on  the  edge  of  the  forest. 

An  event  of  great  consequence  in  the  simple  life  of  those 
early  days  was  the  finding  of  water  in  the  spring  of  1841  by 
workmen  engaged  in  digging  a  well  on  the  convent  grounds. 
When  the  announcement  was  made — fortunately  at  recess — that 
a  natural  vein  had  been  struck  on  a  bed  of  rock  over  a  hundred 
feet  below  the  surface,  a  lively  student  demonstration  followed, 
and  freshly-starched  sunbonnets  went  up  in  the  air  with  hurrahs 
for  the  new  well.  When  in  the  following  year,  the  Sisters  were 
able  to  purchase  a  horse  and  cart,  the  only  conveyance  which  they 
could  afford  for  many  years,  the  happiness  of  their  pupils  was 
complete.  The  latter  named  the  horse  Jacquet,  and  gave  to  the 
cart  the  “high-sounding  title  of  gig  when  it  was  used  by  the 
Sisters;  on  all  other  occasions  it  was  a  cart.”  9 

A  sweet  and  touching  incident  is  that  of  little  Mary  Byrnes. 
Her  father,  a  widower,  a  man  of  good  education  but  in  reduced 
circumstances,  was  employed  as  man-of-albwork  about  the  con- 

7  Ibid.,  p.  74. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  59. 

9  Ibid.,  p.  90. 


60  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

vent,  and  his  only  child,  Mary  Josephine,  six  years  old,  was  taken 
by  the  Sisters  to  be  cared  for  and  educated.  She  was  soon  a 
favorite  with  all,  and  so  loved  the  Sisters  that,  wanting  to  be 
like  them,  she  begged  to  be  dressed  as  they  were.  The  older 
girls  added  their  entreaties  to  hers,  and  pleaded  her  cause  so 
effectually,  that  Sister  Felicite  and  Sister  Saint  John  fashioned 
for  her  the  coveted  dress,  Sister  Philomene  contributing  the 
rosary  and  cincture.  A  severe  attack  of  croup  soon  after  re¬ 
sulted  in  the  death  of  the  angelic  child ;  and  at  the  request  of  her 
heart-broken  father,  she  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  little  habit  that 
she  loved. 

That  Mother  Celestine  was  an  advocate  of  social  service  in 
a  most  practical  form  was  demonstrated  one  cold  night  in  mid¬ 
winter,  when  hearing  cries  of  distress,  she  rang  the  convent  bell, 
summoning  the  community  and  the  larger  girls  to  accompany 
her  to  the  river  bank,  where  the  crew  of  a  wrecked  steamer,  the 
Europa,  were  signalling  for  help.  Warm  wraps,  restoratives  and 
bandages  were  quickly  gathered  up,  and  the  party  set  out,  reach¬ 
ing  the  place  in  time  to  be  of  great  help  to  the  rescuers.  Two 
hundred  passengers — all  on  board — were  saved  and  housed  by 
the  villagers  over  night.  Thirty  women  and  girls  were  sheltered 
at  the  convent  until  the  following  afternoon.  The  academy  girls 
felt  doubly  repaid  for  their  loss  of  sleep  that  night,  when,  among 
the  transients  whom  they  escorted  home,  they  discovered  the 
sixteen-year-old  “Fat  Girl”  of  a  travelling  troupe.  The  celebrity 
slept  on  a  pallet,  for  the  convent  beds  were  all  too  small;  and  in 
the  morning  she  held  a  levee  in  one  of  the  class  rooms.10 

The  happy  convent  life  at  Saint  Joseph’s  was  disturbed  in 
October,  1842,  by  the  Angel  of  Death,  who  took  from  the  midst 
of  those  who  loved  her  well,  Sister  Mary  Joseph  Dillon.  First 
fruit  of  the  sweet  example  given  by  our  early  Sisters  in  their 
poverty,  she  was  the  first  full  sheaf  garnered  by  the  Reaper  from 
the  tiny  field  sown  at  Carondelet.  Her  death  was  the  result  of 

10  Ibid.,  p.  95. 


ST.  JOSEPH’S  ACADEMY 


61 


a  cold  contracted  one  day  when  she  and  several  of  the  Sisters 
were  returning  from  Cahokia.  They  were  overtaken  by  a  heavy 
rain  for  which  they  were  unprepared.  Sister  Mary  Joseph  was 
always  delicate,  and  her  cold  developed  into  quick  consumption. 
All  that  loving  care  could  do  failed  to  restore  her  waning  strength ; 
and  on  October  30,  1842,  she  rendered  up  her  pure  soul  to  its 
Maker.  The  village  carpenter  made  her  pine  coffin,  which  the 
Sisters  deftly  covered  with  black  cloth,  and  lined  with  snowy 
white.  After  Vespers  on  a  Sunday  afternoon,  the  Sisters,  fol¬ 
lowed  by  her  white-haired,  sorrow-stricken  father  and  her  young 
sister,  bore  her  to  her  last  resting-place  in  the  little  cemetery 
beside  the  village  church.  The  chapel  windows  looked  out  upon 
the  plain  white  cross  that  marked  her  grave ;  and  soon  a  path 
was  worn  across  the  grassy  plot  that  lay  between  it  and  the 
convent. 

Sister  Mary  Joseph’s  place  as  English  teacher  in  the  academy 
was  taken  by  Sister  Mary  Rose  Marsteller,  a  native  of  Alex¬ 
andria,  Virginia,  and  a  resident  for  many  years  of  Baltimore. 
Sister  Mary  Rose,  though  still  a  novice,  was  in  her  thirty-first 
year,  a  woman  of  mature  judgment  and  ripe  experience.  Pos¬ 
sessed  of  superior  talent  and  ability,  she  had  received  a  splendid 
education,  was  an  accomplished  linguist  and  musician,  and  her 
assistance  proved  invaluable  to  Mother  Celestine.  Another  en¬ 
couragement  to  the  latter  at  this  time  was  the  interest  taken  in 
St.  Joseph’s  by  Father  Fontbonne,  who  was  pastor  in  Carondelet, 
and  also  director  of  a  boys’  Seminary  established  in  the  parish, 
his  appointment  being  one  of  the  first  official  acts  of  Bishop 
Kenrick.11  In  the  last  week  of  December,  1841,  Bishop  Kenrick 
arrived  in  St.  Louis  as  coadjutor  to  Bishop  Rosati,  then  in 
Rome.12  With  his  initial  visit  to  the  academy  in  January  1842, 
began  the  friendship  between  the  Congregation  and  that  distin- 

11  Pastoral  Blatt,  “Vater  Saulnier  und  seine  Zeit,”  April  1918,  p.  58. 

12  Bishop  Rosati  did  not  return  to  St.  Louis.  He  died  in  Rome,  September 

25,  1843. 


62  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

guished  prelate  which  was  to  last  over  fifty  years,  and  which  has 
made  his  name  a  household  word  among  the  Sisters  of  Saint 
Joseph. 

Vide  Poche  was  assuming  an  intellectual  atmosphere  in  1842 
and  1843,  and  seemed  destined  to  be  a  center  of  education, 
especially  when  a  few  years  later  the  Diocesan  Seminary  was 
located  there.  Another  change  came  over  the  face  of  the  village 
when  well-to-do  St.  Louisans  began  building  there  fine  country 
homes.  One  of  these  was  Louis  G.  Picot,  a  native  of  Richmond, 
Virginia,  who  had  built  up  a  lucrative  law  practice  in  St.  Louis. 
He  secured  a  large  tract  of  land  adjoining  the  convent  property 
on  the  east  overlooking  the  river ;  and  indulging  his  artistic  tastes, 
erected  a  great  stone  house,  its  battlemented  turrets  giving  it  the 
appearance  of  a  medieval  stronghold.  The  central  tower,  rising 
above  the  surrounding  trees,  commanded  a  river  view  of  twenty 
miles,  and  was  the  first  object  seen  by  boatmen  approaching  the 
city  from  the  south.  Picot’s  Castle  was  the  name  given  to  this 
beautiful  home.  The  little  daughters  of  Mr.  Picot  attended  the 
convent  school,  and  his  fine  park  was  thrown  open  to  the  Sisters 
and  their  pupils,  who  duly  appreciated  the  liberty  of  roaming  at 
will  through  the  grounds  of  both  convent  and  castle. 

While  affairs  were  thus  progressing  favorably  in  Carondelet, 
the  mission  at  Cahokia  met  with  disaster.  The  winter  of  1843-4 
was  unusually  severe  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  with  frequent 
snow  storms  in  the  northwest.  The  spring  rains  were  the 
heaviest  that  old  inhabitants  could  remember.  The  Mississippi 
rose  to  a  great  height,  and  a  raging  flood  swept  the  lowlands 
along  the  Missouri  and  Illinois  shores  in  May.  By  the  first  week 
in  June,  entire  villages,  including  Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia,  were 
under  water.  Mother  Febronie  and  her  Sisters  took  refuge  in 
the  second  story  of  the  convent,  where  they  watched  the  little 
church  and  their  own  small  chapel  almost  disappear,  and  in 
momentary  fear  of  drowning,  waited,  praying  for  relief. 

Volunteers  among  the  river  captains  were  called  for  in  the 
meantime  by  the  Mayor  of  St.  Louis,  Bernard  Pratte,  and  boat 


ST.  JOSEPH’S  ACADEMY  63 

after  boat  set  out  to  the  rescue  of  the  Illinois  sufferers,  plying 
inland  over  submerged  fields  of  grain.  On  one  of  these  boats, 
Mother  Celestine  herself,  accompanied  by  Father  Fontbonne,  em¬ 
barked,  fearful  for  the  safety  of  the  Sisters.  The  latter  were 
rescued  through  a  second  story  window  of  the  convent  and 
brought  back  to  Carondelet.  All  had  suffered  much  from  ex¬ 
posure,  especially  Mother  Febronie,  whose  frail  constitution 
seemed  hopelessly  shattered.  She  was  seized  with  a  lingering 
illness,  which  caused  her  intense  suffering.  After  four  months 
of  patient  endurance,  she  was  allowed,  on  the  advice  of  phy¬ 
sicians,  to  return  to  France.  Accompanied  by  Sister  Febronie 
Chapellon,  she  left  St.  Louis  in  October  1844. 

The  Sisters  did  not  return  to  Cahokia  until  1847.  Though  the 
water  gradually  subsided,  the  houses  remained  damp  and  un¬ 
healthy,  and  everywhere  were  stagnant  pools  that  bred  disease. 
Father  Loisel  returned  for  a  short  time ;  but  consumed  by  a  wast¬ 
ing  fever,  he  came  back  to  St.  Louis,  where  his  death  occurred 
May  10,  1845,  at  the  home  of  his  sister,  Mrs.  Papin.  Cahokia 
was  then  left  without  a  resident  pastor  for  two  years.13 

In  the  interval  between  1844  and  1847,  the  Sisters  from  Caron¬ 
delet  assumed  charge  of  three  institutions  in  Saint  Louis,  their 
first  in  that  city.  Two  of  these,  St.  Joseph’s  Orphan  Asylum  and 
St.  Vincent’s  parochial  school  were  permanent,  and  after  seventy- 
five  years  of  existence,  are  still  flourishing.  The  third,  though 
first  in  point  of  time,  was  short-lived,  but  produced  some  lasting 
fruit.  This  was  a  school  for  Catholic  colored  girls  established 
by  Father  Augustus  Paris  under  the  auspices  of  Bishop  Kenrick. 
It  was  opened  on  February  5,  1845,  in  a  three-story  brick  build¬ 
ing  on  Third  and  Poplar  Streets.  Sister  Saint  John  Fournier, 
Sister  Antoinette  Kinkaid  and  Sister  Saint  Protais  Deboille  con¬ 
stituted  the  first  teaching  staff.  The  curriculum  included  the 
elementary  branches,  with  French  and  plain  ornamental  needle 
work. 

The  school  soon  numbered  one  hundred  girls,14  the  daughters 

13  beuckman,  History  of  the  Diocese  of  Belleville ,  pp.  5,  6. 

14  Annals,  p.  279. 


64  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

for  the  most  part  of  free  negroes.  The  children  of  the  Catholic 
slave  population  were  instructed  in  Catechism  after  school  and 
on  Sundays.  While  no  law  as  yet  existed  in  Missouri  pro¬ 
hibiting  the  education  of  this  class,  there  was  a  strong  prejudice 
against  it  on  the  part  of  those  who  feared  the  influence  of  aboli¬ 
tion  literature  on  slaves  able  to  read  it.15  Many  indulgent  mas¬ 
ters,  however,  taught  their  negroes  to  read  and  write,  and  these 
were  ready  and  willing  to  patronize  the  school,  a  few,  indeed, 
sending  their  slaves. 

A  lively  interest  was  manifested  in  the  education  of  these 
children  by  Bishop  Kenrick,  and  also  by  Right  Reverend  Edward 
Barron,  for  several  years  Vicar-Apostolic  of  the  Liberian  colony 
in  Africa.  Bishop  Barron  came  to  St.  Louis  in  1845,  and  in 
company  with  Bishop  Kenrick,  frequently  visited  the  school, 
encouraging  teachers  and  pupils.  The  following  is  a  portion  of 
a  letter  from  one  of  the  latter  written  into  the  annals  of  the 
Sisters  in  Carondelet : 

We  felt  at  home  and  were  happy,  because  the  time  and  attention 
of  the  Sisters  was  all  our  own,  and  there  was  no  one  to  tease  us. 
Archbishop  Kenrick  often  visited  us,  and  when  Bishop  Barron  came 
to  St.  Louis,  the  Archbishop  brought  him  to  see  us.  Father  Paris, 
who  was  the  chief  organizer  of  the  school,  visited  us  at  least  once 
a  week.  He  would  hear  our  lessons  and  note  our  improvement. 
If  he  called  during  sewing  class,  he  looked  at  each  girl’s  work. 
When  he  brought  visitors  to  the  school,  he  never  failed  to  tell  them 
in  our  presence  that  we  were  his  children.  This  pleased  us  very 
much.  Father  Renaud  usually  said  Mass  on  week  days  in  the 
Sisters’  chapel,  and  as  many  of  us  as  had  time  assisted  at  that  Mass. 
For  a  time,  Father  Benedict  Roux  gave  us  instructions  in  Christian 
Doctrine  twice  a  week  in  our  class  room.18 

Then  follows  an  account  of  an  entertainment  given  by  the 
pupils  on  the  eve  of  Father  Roux’s  departure  for  France.  Va- 

15  eugene  morrow  viOLETTE,  A  History  of  Missouri,  p.  296  New  York,  1918. 
HARRISON  a.  trexler.  Slavery  in  Missouri,  1804-1865  p.  83.  Baltimore,  1914. 

10  Annals,  p.  283-4.  Signature  and  date  not  preserved. 


ST.  JOSEPH’S  ACADEMY  65 

rious  gifts  were  made  to  him  by  the  grateful  children,  some 
presenting  fruit  and  flowers,  and  one,  Rosalie  Jacques,  eighteen 
years  of  age,  a  surplice  which  she  herself  had  made  and  em¬ 
broidered.  This  school  was  giving  much  promise  of  success, 
when  obstacles  were  placed  in  the  way  of  its  continuance  by  the 
civil  authorities,17  and  it  was  given  up  in  the  spring  of  1846,  the 
Sunday-school  classes  only  being  carried  on  as  usual.18 

In  the  meantime,  in  November,  1845,  a  parochial  school  was 
begun  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Mission  in  their 
parish  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  of  which  Reverend  Thaddeus 
Amat,  future  Bishop  of  Los  Angeles,  was  pastor.  Mother  Celes- 
tine,  being  appealed  to  for  teachers,  appointed  Sister  Delphine 
as  Superior  of  the  mission,  with  Sister  Mary  Frances  Nally  and 
Sister  Martha  Bunning  as  her  assistants.  This  was  the  only 
parish  school  then  in  St.  Louis,19  and  was  known  at  first  as  the 
Immaculate  Conception  School.  The  girls  and  small  boys  were 
taught  by  the  Sisters  in  a  building  on  Seventh  street,  which  was 
soon  too  small,  and  a  rented  house  on  Tenth  and  Marion  Streets 
was  used  for  the  primary  classes.  The  large  boys  were  in  charge 
of  lay  teachers  until  the  coming  of  the  Christian  Brothers  in 
1850.  By  that  time,  a  new  brick  building  was  ready  for  the 
boys,  and  a  lot  had  been  donated  to  the  Sisters  by  Elizabeth 
Soulard,  a  wealthy  and  charitable  woman  of  the  parish,  for  a 
girls’  school,  the  one  in  use  being  overcrowded.  To  the  school 
erected  here  a  few  years  later,  Archbishop  Kenrick  was  a  large 
contributor,  as  was  also  Father  Aloysius  Parodi,  of  the  Con- 

17  Records  of  St.  Louis  Diocese,  I,  221.  a.  d.  1845. 

18  The  existing  prejudice  reached  a  climax  in  the  following  year.  On 
Feb.  16,  1847,  a  bill  passed  in  the  Missouri  Legislature  provided  that  “no 
person  shall  keep  or  teach  any  school  for  the  instruction  of  negroes  in  read¬ 
ing  or  writing”  under  penalty  of  a  “fine  not  exceeding  $500  or  imprison¬ 
ment  not  exceeding  six  months  or  both  fine  and  imprisonment.”  Mo.  Sess. 
Laws,  1847,  pp.  103-4,  Sections,  1-5. 

19  A  parish  school  was  opened  in  1843  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  but  it 
soon  developed  into  a  private  seminary  for  girls,  known  as  “Sister  Olympia’s 
school.”  Walter  j.  hill.  History  of  St.  Louis  University,  p.  64.  St.  Louis, 
1879. 


66  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

gregation  of  the  Mission.  It  owed  much  of  the  success  which 
attended  it  from  the  beginning  to  Father  Uhland,  whose  zeal  for 
education  was  equalled  only  by  his  charity  to  the  poor  and  the' 
orphans. 

In  the  summer  of  1846,  Mother  Celestine  was  again  called  on 
by  Bishop  Kenrick  for  members  of  her  community  to  take  charge 
of  the  boys’  orphanage  on  Third  and  Walnut  Streets,  from 
which  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  on  their  affiliation  with  the  Daugh¬ 
ters  of  Vincent  de  Paul  in  France,  had  been  withdrawn.  Sister 
Saint  John  Fournier  was  placed  in  charge  of  this  house,  and 
with  her  were  Sister  Antoinette  Kinkaid,  Sister  Teresa  Struck- 
hof,  and  Sister  Seraphine  Coughlin. 

The  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  had  now  spent  ten  years  in  the 
United  States — years  for  the  most  part  of  struggle  against  dif¬ 
ficulties  and  discouragements.  Their  mission  field  was  confined 
to  Carondelet  and  St.  Louis.  In  the  former,  they  were  conduct¬ 
ing  an  academy  of  thirty  boarders,  and  their  day  schools  num¬ 
bered  eighty  pupils.  They  were  also  caring  for  six  mutes  and 
nineteen  orphan  girls.  The  school  in  St.  Vincent’s  parish  num¬ 
bered  one  hundred  and  twenty  pupils,  and  the  orphanage,  seventy- 
seven  boys.20  The  Congregation  was  still  small,  but  steadily  in¬ 
creasing  in  numbers.  It  had  lost  a  few  members  by  death,  and 
two  had  gone  back  to  France. 

It  was  hoped  that  these  two  would  return  to  St.  Louis ;  but 
Mother  Sacred  Heart  Tezenas,  who  had  succeeded  Mother  Saint 
John  Fontbonne  in  the  government  of  the  Congregation  at  Lyons, 
being  herself  in  great  need  of  Sisters  for  her  numerous  missions, 
did  not  deem  it  wise  to  send  them  or  any  other  Sisters  from 
France.  The  novitiate  in  Carondelet  was  receiving  young 
American  girls  better  adapted  physically  to  the  severe  climate, 
and  better  prepared  by  their  knowledge  of  the  language  and 
customs  of  the  country  to  take  up  the  work  of  education,  which, 
it  was  evident,  would  be  their  principal  occupation.  Under  these 
circumstances,  the  authorities  in  Lyons  by  mutual  agreement  with 

20  Records,  Mother  House ,  pp.  231,  269. 


ST.  JOSEPH’S  ACADEMY  67 

those  of  St.  Louis  recognized  the  autonomy  of  the  Congrega¬ 
tion  in  Carondelet.  Neither  distance  nor  the  lapse  of  time, 
however,  weakened  the  bond  of  affection  engendered  by  early 
association  and  a  common  origin  which  bound  Carondelet  to 
Lyons,  and  across  the  dark  period  known  as  the  French  Revolu¬ 
tion,  linked  it  with  Le  Puy  and  its  holy  traditions. 


CHAPTER  VI 


FOUNDATIONS  IN  PENNSYLVANIA  (1847),  MINNESOTA 
(1851),  CANADA  (1851),  VIRGINIA  (1853),  NEW 

YORK  (1854) 

In  the  spring  of  1847,  Mother  Celestine  made  the  first  founda¬ 
tion  of  the  Congregation  outside  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis.  This 
was  in  Philadelphia,  at  the  request  of  Right  Reverend  Francis 
Patrick  Kenrick.  The  latter,  while  on  a  visit  to  his  brother, 
Peter  Richard,  Bishop  of  St.  Louis,  in  the  fall  of  1846,1  went 
to  Carondelet,  and  requested  of  Mother  Celestine  a  community 
of  her  Sisters  to  take  charge  of  St.  John's  Orphan  Asylum  in 
his  episcopal  city.  From  this,  as  from  the  one  in  St.  Louis, 
the  Sisters  of  Charity  had  been  recalled  in  the  summer  of  1846 
by  their  Superior,  Father  Deluol.2 

It  was  only  after  much  persuasion  that  Mother  Celestine  con¬ 
sented  to  this  request.  The  need  of  Sisters  for  the  home  mis¬ 
sions  was  great  and  the  Congregation  still  small.  Moreover,  the 
distance  of  the  new  field  and  the  inconveniences  of  travel  made 
frequent  communication  with  the  Mother  House  difficult,  and, 
at  some  seasons  of  the  year  impossible.3  The  Bishop  would  take 
no  refusal,  however;  and  he  left  St.  Louis  with  the  promise 
that  Sisters  would  be  sent  to  Philadelphia  after  the  ceremony 
of  profession  in  the  spring,  when  several  novices  were  to  make 

1  Bishop  Francis  P.  Kenrick  was  favorably  impressed  with  conditions 
in  St.  Louis.  He  wrote  in  his  Diary  of  Sept.  2 2,  1846  (p.  241)  :  “Religion 
here  is  very  vigorous.  It  is  manifest  in  its  works :  a  hospital,  a  university, 
schools  and  other  institutions.” 

2  Charles  c.  herbermann.  The  Sulpicians  in  the  United  States,  p.  221,  New 
York,  1916. 

3  The  ordinary  means  of  transportation  between  St.  Louis  and  Pittsburg 
were  steamboats  on  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  rivers,  and  these  were  often 
icebound  for  weeks,  or  retarded  by  low  water. 

68 


NUMEROUS  FOUNDATIONS 


69 

their  vows.  This  ceremony  took  place  on  April  11,  Bishop 
Barron,  assisted  by  Father  Anthony  Thibaudier,  officiating  in 
the  absence  from  St.  Louis  of  Bishop  Kenrick.  Two  of  the 
newly  professed  Sisters,  Sister  Mary  Joseph  Clark,  a  native  of 
Washington  County,  Missouri,  and  Sister  Elizabeth  Kinkaid  of 
St.  Louis,  were  selected  for  the  Philadelphia  mission.  With 
them  were  appointed  Sister  Mary  Magdalen  Weber,  who  had 
entered  the  Congregation  in  1843  from  Conewaga,  Pennsylvania; 
and  as  Superior,  Sister  Saint  John  Fournier. 

Mother  Saint  John,  who  later  became  an  important  factor 
in  the  development  of  the  Congregation  in  Philadelphia,  was  the 
daughter  of  Jean  Cloude  Fournier  and  Marie  Rambeau,  and  was 
born  November  13,  1814,  at  Arbois,  France.  She  entered  the 
novitiate  at  Lyons,  receiving  the  habit  there  on  June  16,  1836. 
While  still  a  postulant,  she  was  sent  with  other  Sisters  from 
Lyons  to  Saint  Etienne  to  study  the  sign-language,  and  was 
chosen  in  1837  to  accompany  Mother  Celestine  to  Carondelet. 
The  new  climate  told  severely  on  her  constitution ;  and  during 
her  novitiate,  she  suffered  much  from  the  hardships  to  which  the 
Sisters  were  exposed  in  their  log-cabin  convent.  Her  ardent 
disposition,  and  her  great  desire  to  be  of  service  caused  her  to 
hope  that  she  might  be  admitted  to  her  profession  of  vows  before 
the  expiration  of  her  two  years  of  novitiate;  and  she  twice 
petitioned  Bishop  Rosati  to  this  effect.4  It  was  a  great  trial  to 
her,  when,  in  view  of  the  uncertain  state  of  her  health,  and  the 
short  time  that  she  had  spent  on  the  trying  American  mission, 
her  superiors  thought  it  advisable  to  postpone  rather  than  to 
anticipate  the  time  of  her  profession ;  but  she  looked  on  this  as 
a  means  given  her  for  preparing  more  worthily  for  the  final 
sacrifice.5  On  the  feast  of  her  patron,  St.  John  the  Evangelist, 
December  27,  1838,  Bishop  Rosati,  who  was  attended  on  this 
occasion  by  Reverend  Hilary  Tucker,  received  her  vows  in  the 
Church  of  Our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel. 

*  Sister  St.  John  to  Bishop  Rosati.  Letter  of  December  9,  1837,  in  St. 
Louis  Diocesan  Archives. 

6  Ibid. 


70  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

On  the  advice  of  physicians,  and  with  the  consent  of  Bishop 
Rosati,  she  spent  part  of  the  following  year  with  the  Ladies  of 
the  Sacred  Heart  at  their  convent  in  the  city;  and  she  profited 
by  this  occasion  not  only  to  recuperate  her  strength  but  to  acquire 
a  more  thorough  knowledge  of  the  English  language.  Until 
1845,  she  was  employed  in  Carondelet,  where,  besides  instructing 
the  deaf-mutes,  she  assisted  with  the  French  classes  in  the 
academy.  At  the  time  of  her  appointment  to  Philadelphia  in 
1847,  she  had  been  for  a  year  in  charge  of  the  boys’  orphanage 
in  St.  Louis.  In  this  capacity,  she  was  replaced  by  Sister  Felicite 
Boute. 

On  the  evening  of  April  15,  1847,  the  four  Sisters  left  St. 
Louis.  News  of  the  victory  of  General  Scott  at  Vera  Cruz  had 
just  reached  the  city,  and  the  missionaries,  on  their  way  to  the 
boat,  passed  through  illuminated  streets  and  scenes  of  general 
rejoicing  quite  in  contrast  to  their  own  feelings  at  parting  from 
Sisters  and  friends  to  find  a  new  home  among  strangers.  They 
were  accompanied  from  St.  Louis  by  Reverend  Joseph  Antony 
Lutz,  former  Vicar-General  of  St.  Louis,  who  was  on  his  way 
to  Europe.6  After  a  wearisome  journey  of  nearly  three  weeks 
by  water  and  stage,  they  arrived  on  May  5  at  Philadelphia. 
Before  entering  the  city,  they  disguised  as  far  as  possible  their 
religious  dress.  This  they  continued  to  do  for  some  time  when¬ 
ever  they  appeared  in  public,  fearing  to  excite  a  renewal  of  the 
anti-Catholic  feeling  which,  only  three  years  before,  had  caused 
bloodshed  in  Pennsylvania.7  The  diocese  had  passed  through 
an  ordeal  of  religious  persecution,  from  which,  owing  to  the  in¬ 
domitable  courage  of  Bishop  Francis  Patrick  Kenrick,  it  had 
emerged  strong  and  vigorous.8  It  numbered  at  this  time  one 
hundred  thousand  Catholics  in  a  total  population  of  one  million,9 

6  Father  Lutz,  meeting  Father  Melcher,  V.  G.,  of  St.  Louis  in  New  York, 
was  dissuaded  from  going  to  Europe,  and  remained  in  the  East. 

7j.  j.  o’shea,  The  Two  Kenricks,  p.  126.  Philadelphia,  1904. 

8  j.  g.  shea,  A  History  of  the  Catholic  Church  Within  the  Limits  of  the 
United  States ,  p.  148.  New  York,  1892. 

9  Ibid.,  p.  56. 


NUMEROUS  FOUNDATIONS 


7i 


and  was  supporting  several  parochial  schools  in  addition  to 
boarding  schools  for  small  boys  and  academies  for  girls,  all 
in  charge  of  religious  communities.  There  were  also  two  or¬ 
phan  asylums,  both  until  1846  under  the  care  of  the  Sisters  of 
Charity. 

St.  John’s  Orphan  Asylum,  originally  located  in  a  small  house 
on  Locust  Street  near  Fourth,  owed  its  foundation  to  an  associa¬ 
tion  of  laymen,  formed  in  1829  for  the  purpose  of  caring  for 
a  few  orphaned  children  of  St.  John’s  parish.  A  charter  was 
drawn  up  by  Reverend  John  Hughes,  future  Archbishop  of  New 
York,  then  stationed  at  St.  John’s  Church.  A  board  of  managers 
was  incorporated  under  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania; 
and  in  1833,  the  association  secured  a  large  building  on  Chestnut 
Street  known  as  the  Gothic  Mansion. 

To  this  place,  Mother  Saint  John  and  her  companions  were 
conducted  on  their  arrival  in  Philadelphia;  and  here  on  the  fol¬ 
lowing  day,  they  were  visited  by  the  Board  of  Managers,  and 
placed  in  possession  of  the  institution.  It  contained  forty  boys, 
and  had  been  since  the  preceding  summer  in  charge  of  two 
zealous  young  women,  who  had  unselfishly  offered  themselves  for 
this  work,  and  who  now  relinquished  it  into  the  hands  of  the 
Sisters.  The  latter  had  some  opposition  and  many  insults  to 
endure  from  those  still  under  the  influence  of  bigotry.  Their 
Catholic  friends,  however,  were  numerous,  and  the  fruit  of  self- 
sacrificing  labor  on  their  own  part  was  soon  evident.  Before 
many  months  had  passed,  three  postulants  presented  themselves 
for  admission  into  the  Congregation,  Eliza  Carroll,  Margaret 
Lovett  and  Mary  Meyer.  The  last  named  was  one  of  the  two 
young  women  mentioned  above.  Before  the  end  of  the  year 
1847,  all  were  invested  with  the  habit  by  Bishop  Francis  Patrick 
Kenrick  in  the  chapel  of  St.  John’s  Asylum  in  Philadelphia,  and 
received  the  names  respectively  of  Sister  Jane  b  ranees.  Sister 
Salome,  and  Sister  Appolonia.  At  the  time  of  their  profession 
in  October,  1849,  Mother  Celestine  made  her  first  visit  to  the 
Eastern  houses,  which  then  included,  besides  the  orphanage,  St. 


72  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Patrick’s  parochial  school  in  Pottsville,  and  St.  Joseph’s  Hospital, 
opened  the  preceding  June  in  Philadelphia. 

The  last  named  institution,  though  it  remained  under  the 
direction  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  for  only  ten  years,  is  in¬ 
teresting  as  it  is  the  first  hospital  of  which  they  took  charge  in 
America.  It  was  the  result  of  efforts  made  by  the  zealous  Jesuit, 
Father  Barbelin,  for  the  relief  of  Irish  immigrants  who  were 
coming  into  Philadelphia  in  large  numbers,  many  of  them  suffer¬ 
ing  from  fever.  The  building  first  secured  was  a  small  frame 
house  situated  in  a  beautiful  plot  of  ground  on  Girard  Avenue 
between  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Streets.  It  was  enlarged 
the  following  year  by  the  purchase  of  an  adjoining  piece  of  prop¬ 
erty  on  which  stood  a  two  story  house.  The  two  buildings  were 
then  connected  by  a  frame  arcade,  thus  increasing  the  capacity 
of  the  hospital,  which  during  the  first  year,  accommodated  one 
hundred  and  eighty-five  patients.  Doctor  Horner,  head  surgeon 
at  that  time  of  the  city  hospital,  was  largely  instrumental  in  the 
foundation  of  Saint  Joseph’s.  He  remained  its  friend  and 
benefactor  during  his  life,  and  at  his  death  in  1853,  bequeathed 
to  it  all  his  surgical  instruments  and  many  valuable  books.  Be¬ 
sides  Doctor  Horner,  the  staff  numbered  two  resident  and  five 
attendant  physicians. 

Four  Sisters  were  assigned  to  hospital  duty,  and  Mother  Saint 
John  Fournier,  as  Superior,  was  obliged  to  divide  her  attention 
between  hospital  and  orphanage  until  Mother  C'elestine  relieved 
the  situation  in  June  1850  by  sending  from  Carondelet  Sister 
Delphine  Fontbonne  and  Sister  Martha  Bunning.  The  former 
was  made  Superior  at  the  orphanage,  which  until  1854  was  also 
the  novitiate.  Many  opportunities  were  given  to  Mother  Saint 
John  in  the  cramped  quarters  at  the  hospital  of  practicing  the 
mortification  to  which  she  had  become  accustomed  during  her 
novitiate  in  Carondelet.  On  one  occasion  it  was  discovered  that 
she  had  given  up  her  bed  to  a  fever  patient,  and  slept  on  boards 
over  which  a  few  coverlets  had  been  thrown.  To  a  Sister  who 
remonstrated  with  her,  she  replied,  that  a  Sister  of  Saint  Joseph 


NUMEROUS  FOUNDATIONS 


73 


should  forget  her  own  comfort  in  remembering  the  hard  wood 
of  the  Cross.  Her  charity  towards  the  sick  poor  was  boundless, 
and  she  soon  won  the  love  and  esteem  of  all.  Her  stay  at  the 
hospital  was  short,  however.  In  August  1851,  she  was  recalled 
to  Carondelet,  whither  she  went  accompanied  by  Sister  Appolonia. 
Mother  Celestine,  responding  to  a  petition  of  Bishop  Peter 
Richard  Kenrick  in  favor  of  Right  Reverend  Joseph  Cretin,  of 
the  newly  erected  diocese  of  St.  Paul,10  was  preparing  to  estab¬ 
lish  in  the  latter’s  episcopal  city,  the  first  mission  of  the  Congrega¬ 
tion  in  Minnesota.  Of  the  pioneer  band  that  went  there  in  the 
late  fall  of  1851,  Mother  Saint  John  was  a  member,  but  in  the 
spring  of  1853,  at  the  request  of  Right  Reverend  Bishop  Neu¬ 
mann,11'  she  was  sent  back  to  Philadelphia.  In  the  meantime,  a 
new  parochial  school  was  opened,  St.  Philip’s,  and  the  orphan 
boys,  one  hundred  in  number,  had  been  removed  to  a  new  build¬ 
ing  in  West  Philadelphia.  They  were  in  charge  of  Sister  Agnes 
Spencer,  Sister  Delphine  having  gone  to  Toronto,  Canada,  where 
a  foundation  was  made  in  the  fall  of  1851. 

This  mission  was  the  result  of  a  visit  made  in  the  summer  of 
that  year  by  Right  Reverend  Amandus  de  Charbonnel  to  Bishop 
Kenrick  of  Philadelphia.  Bishop  de  Charbonnel,  a  native  of 
Lyons,  was  a  friend  of  the  Fontbonne  family,  and  he  requested 
that  Sister  Delphine  be  allowed  to  found  a  house  of  the  Congrega¬ 
tion  in  his  diocese  of  Toronto.  Early  in  October,  Sister 
Delphine,  Sister  Martha  Bunning,  Sister  Alphonsus  Margery  and 
Sister  Mary  Bernard  Dinan,  the  two  last  named  from  the 
Philadelphia  novitiate,  left  for  Canada.  They  were  accompanied 
by  Reverend  James  Fontbonne,  who  had  severed  his  connection 
with  the  St.  Louis  diocese,  and  after  some  months  in  Philadelphia, 
was  on  his  way  to  France.12  The  first  house  of  the  Sisters  in 
Toronto  was  an  orphan  asylum,  later  known  as  the  House  of 
Providence;  and  in  April  1852,  Sister  Martha  Bunning  was 

10  The  See  of  St.  Paul  was  erected  July  19,  1850.  Bishop  Cretin,  conse¬ 
crated  at  Belley,  France,  January  31,  1851,  reached  St.  Paul  July  21,  1851. 

11  Successor  to  Bishop  Francis  Patrick  Kenrick  in  the  See  of  Philadelphia. 

12  Father  Fontbonne  died  at  Changy,  France  in  1886. 


74  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

appointed  Superior  of  another  orphanage  in  Hamilton.  In  the 
meantime,  on  March  19,  1852,  two  novices  were  received  in 
Toronto,  the  ceremony  taking  place  in  St.  Michael’s  Cathedral.' 
They  were  Sister  Mary  Joseph  McDonnel,  and  Sister  Mary 
Frances  McCarthy,  both  natives  of  Ireland.  Three  parochial 
schools,  St.  Patrick’s,  St.  Paul’s  and  St.  Michael’s,  were  placed 
in  charge  of  the  Sisters  by  the  fall  of  1853,  and  on  the  inaugura¬ 
tion  of  a  new  mission  in  Amherstburgh  in  the  same  year,  Sister 
Teresa  Struckhof  was  sent  from  St.  Louis  as  Superior. 

Though  Mother  Delphine  had  begged  for  a  larger  number  of 
recruits  for  Canada,  Mother  Celestine  was  not  able  at  that  time  to 
send  more,  the  demand  made  upon  the  Mother  House  in  Caron- 
delet  being  greater  than  she  could  supply.  Early  in  1853,  she  had 
complied  with  a  request  of  Bishop  Whelan  of  Wheeling,  Virginia, 
and  sent  to  that  city  a  community  of  four  Sisters  to  commence 
a  private  hospital,  there  being  none  in  Wheeling  under  Catholic 
auspices.  A  rented  house  which  the  Bishop  had  procured  for 
the  purpose  was  put  in  readiness  by  the  Sisters;  but  on  the  eve 
of  their  taking  possession,  the  owner  insisted  on  cancelling  the 
contract  which  she  had  made,  affirming  that  she  could  not  permit 
her  house  to  be  used  by  Catholic  Sisters.  She  had  understood 
that  the  occupants  were  to  be  sisters  of  the  same  family,  not 
members  of  a  religions  body.  Another  temporary  habitation 
was  forthwith  secured;  and  on  April  13,  1853,  the  community 
was  installed  in  the  institution  known  as  the  Wheeling  Hospital, 
chartered  under  that  name  by  the  Virginia  Assembly,  and  used 
as  a  military  hospital  during  the  Civil  War.  Sisters  Anastasia 
O’Brien,  Alexis  Spellicy,  Sebastian  Reis  and  Agatha  Guthrie 
composed  the  original  band  in  Wheeling.  The  number  was  in¬ 
creased  to  six  in  May,  when  Mother  Celestine,  who  accompanied 
Mother  Saint  John  Fournier  back  to  Philadelphia,  took  from 
there  to  Wheeling  Sister  Liguori  Leigh  and  Mother  Agnes 
Spencer.  The  latter  was  appointed  Superior  in  Wheeling,  and 
remained  there  until  the  fall  of  1854,  when  she  returned  to 
Carondelet. 


NUMEROUS  FOUNDATIONS 


75 


Mother  Agnes  Spencer  was  a  native  of  Lancashire,  England, 
and  entered  the  novitiate  in  Carondelet  in  1846  in  the  twenty- 
fourth  year  of  her  age.  She  was  a  woman  of  strong  personality, 
great  tact  and  ability,  and  was  chosen  by  Mother  Celestine  to 
introduce  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  into  the  diocese  of  Buffalo. 
Reverend  Edmund  O’Connor,  pastor  of  Canandaigua,  was  open¬ 
ing  a  parochial  school  in  his  parish,  and  applied  to  Mother  Celes¬ 
tine  for  teachers  on  the  advice  of  Bishop  Timon,  whose  interest 
in  the  community,  especially  in  its  work  for  the  deaf,  had  not 
relaxed  since,  in  company  with  Bishop  Rosati,  he  had  welcomed 
the  pioneers  to  America. 

On  December  3,  1854,  Mother  Agnes  Spencer,  Sister  Theo¬ 
dosia  Hageman,  Sister  Francis  Joseph  Ivory,  and  Sister  Petro- 
nilla  Roscoe  left  Saint  Louis  for  Canandaigua.  They  were  obliged 
to  travel  by  boat  to  Alton,  which  they  reached  at  midnight.  A 
railroad  in  process  of  construction  between  Chicago  and  St.  Louis 
was  completed  as  far  as  Alton.  Here  the  Sisters  took  the  train, 
and  arrived  at  Chicago  on  the  following  afternoon.  They  were 
cordially  received  and  entertained  until  evening  by  Bishop 
O’Regan,  former  president  of  Carondelet  Seminary.13  Leaving 
Chicago  on  the  evening  of  December  4,  they  reached  Buffalo  at 
7  p.  m.  December  6,  after  a  long,  cold  ride.  The  train  was  insuf¬ 
ficiently  heated,  and  with  the  mercury  almost  at  zero,  the  passen¬ 
gers  were  dependent  for  comfort  on  their  warm  wraps.  Snow 
was  falling  continually,  and  at  Rochester  the  next  morning,  there 
was  a  long  delay  until  the  track  ahead  could  be  cleared  for  further 
passage. 

The  travellers  spent  the  interval  with  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
at  their  convent  near  the  station,  where  Sister  Francis  was  sur¬ 
prised  and  delighted  to  find  an  old  school  friend  in  one  of  the 
Sisters  located  there.  This  was  the  first  time  that  the  two  had 
met  in  the  religious  garb,  and,  woman-like,  each  was  much  in¬ 
terested  in  the  other’s  habit.  At  ten  o’clock  on  the  evening  of 
December  7,  the  Sisters  reached  Canandaigua.  In  the  absence 

13  Consecrated  Bishop  of  Chicago,  July  1854. 


76  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

of  the  pastor  on  a  sick  call,  they  were  met  by  Mr.  Cochran,  a 
railroad  official  and  prominent  Catholic  of  the  city,  who  con¬ 
ducted  them  to  the  parochial  residence.  After  Mass  the  follow¬ 
ing  morning,  they  took  possession  of  their  own  home,  a  pretty 
white  frame  building  in  the  center  of  fine  grounds.  The  place 
had  formerly  been  a  nursery,  and  besides  an  orchard,  contained 
garden  plots,  hidden  that  morning  under  trackless  snow.  The 
Sisters  named  their  white  cottage  the  Convent  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception  in  honor  of  the  day,  December  8,  1854,  ever  memor¬ 
able  as  the  day  on  which  the  dogma  of  the  Immaculate  Concep¬ 
tion  was  proclaimed. 

The  school  for  girls  was  commenced  in  the  convent,  and  for 
boys  in  the  basement  of  the  church.  Both  prospered,  owing 
largely  to  the  co-operation  of  the  pastor,  Father  O’Connor,  and 
his  unfailing  kindness  to  teachers  and  pupils.  A  sodality  was 
organized,  and  soon,  several  large  girls  were  received  as  boarders. 
Extra  teachers  were  required,  and  in  April  1855,  Sisters  Julia 
Littenecker  and  Bruno  Nolan  were  sent  to  Canandaigua  from 
Carondelet.  Father  Paris,  spiritual  Father  of  the  Community 
in  St.  Louis,  accompanied  them.  They  narrowly  escaped  a 
serious  accident  near  Detroit.  The  bridge  over  a  shallow  stream 
between  high  banks  had  been  swept  away  by  the  bursting  of 
a  mill  dam.  The  miller  discovered  this  only  a  few  minutes  be¬ 
fore  midnight,  at  which  time  the  train  was  due  at  the  bridge. 
Frantically  waving  a  lantern,  he  succeeded  in  checking  the  on¬ 
coming  train  almost  on  the  edge  of  the  embankment.  Father 
Paris  took  pains  to  impress  on  the  two  young  Sisters  a  sense 
of  the  danger  from  which  they  had  escaped  so  narrowly,  in  order, 
as  he  said,  that  they  might  ever  after  be  grateful  to  God  for  His 
care  of  them.  The  passengers  spent  several  hours  collecting 
stones  and  branches  to  effect  a  crossing;  and  when  they  reached 
the  other  side  of  the  stream,  all  found  shelter  in  a  settlement  near 
by  until  the  arrival  of  a  relief  train  from  Detroit  the  following 
morning. 

Reaching  Canandaigua  April  21,  after  a  four  days’  journey, 


NUMEROUS  FOUNDATIONS 


77 


the  Sisters  were  soon  assigned  to  duty,  Sister  Bruno  in  the  class¬ 
room,  and  Sister  Julia  as  music  teacher.  To  Sister  Julia  also 
fell  the  duties  of  organist  in  the  small  church  and  director  of 
the  children’s  choir.  She  brought  to  her  work  qualifications  of 
no  common  order.  Born  in  1836  in  Hofweier,  an  exclusively 
Catholic  city  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden,  she  was  sent  by 
pious  parents  to  a  convent  of  Benedictines  in  Offenburg,  where 
she  received  an  excellent  education,  becoming  proficient  especially 
in  music  and  languages.  With  her  parents  and  other  members 
of  her  family,  she  came  to  St.  Louis  in  the  spring  of  1853,  and 
a  few  months  later,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  she  was  received  as 
a  novice  in  Carondelet.  Her  example  was  followed,  during  the 
next  few  years,  by  her  two  younger  sisters,  who  served  the 
community  long  and  faithfully  as  Sisters  Lidwina  and  Mechtilda. 
Grave  and  serious  by  nature,  but  with  rare  sweetness  and  grace 
of  manner,  Sister  Julia  gave  evidence  from  her  entrance  into  the 
novitiate  of  the  deep  piety  and  fervor,  the  love  for  the  devotions 
and  ceremonies  of  the  Church,  which  distinguished  her  during 
the  sixty  years  of  her  beautiful  life  as  a  Sister  of  St.  Joseph. 
She  had  not  completed  her  term  of  novice-ship  when  sent  to 
Canandaigua,  but  made  her  vows  there  in  St.  Mary’s  Church  the 
following  year.  At  the  same  time,  two  postulants,  received  by 
Mother  Agnes  Spencer,  were  invested  with  the  habit,  Sisters 
Stanislaus  Leary  and  Anastasia  Donovan,  both  of  Corning,  New 
York. 

A  parochial  school  was  begun  in  Rochester  in  1856,  but  was 
temporary,  the  Sisters  being  recalled  to  Canandaigua  at  the  end 
of  the  school  year.14  They  were  assigned  to  Buffalo  instead. 
Here  Bishop  Timon  had  begun  to  press  his  project  for  a  deaf- 
mute  institute.  Land  was  donated  for  this  purpose  by  a  bene¬ 
factor  of  the  Church  in  Buffalo,  Louis  Le  Couteulx.  Not  hav¬ 
ing  means  at  his  disposal  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings, 
the  Bishop  had  removed  to  Le  Couteulx  place  some  small  cottages 

14  A  permanent  foundation  was  made  in  Rochester  from  Buffalo  in  1864, 
and  became  independent  in  1868  when  the  Buffalo  diocese  was  divided. 


78  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

which  had  been  used  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity  pending  the  com¬ 
pletion  of  their  foundling  asylum.  Here,  until  better  accom¬ 
modations  could  be  provided,  he  proposed  to  begin  a  parochial 
school,  and  also  to  provide  for  the  instruction  of  a  few  deaf-mute 
children  who  had  been  brought  to  his  notice.  For  the  former, 
Sister  Francis  Joseph  and  Sister  Bruno  were  sent  from  Canan¬ 
daigua,  and  were  later  reinforced  temporarily  by  Sisters  Bernard 
Dinan  and  Philomene  Sheridan  from  Toronto.  Mother  Celes- 
tine  was  appealed  to  for  teachers  of  the  deaf.  The  Sisters  pre¬ 
pared  to  take  up  this  work  were  few  in  number,  and  their  services 
were  required  for  the  school  in  Carondelet.  Bishop  Timon,  to 
his  great  disappointment,  was  obliged  to  defer  his  project  for 
these  afflicted  children  until  the  following  year. 

When  the  teachers  for  the  parish  school  reached  Buffalo,  they 
found  that  the  cottages  were  not  ready.  The  pastor,  Reverend 
J.  M.  Early  gave  up  his  residence  for  a  temporary  convent,  and 
the  church  was  converted  into  a  school.  The  boys  were  taught 
by  Sister  Francis  Joseph  in  the  sacristy,  and  the  girls’  class  room 
was  the  body  of  the  church,  separated  from  the  sanctuary  by 
a  curtain.  This  state  of  affairs  continued  for  the  greater  part 
of  the  year.  The  small  community  suffered  much  from  poverty, 
and  was  often  dependent  for  the  necessaries  of  life  on  the  Sisters 
of  Charity,  whose  Superior,  Sister  Rosalia,  did  not  forget  her 
neighbors  across  the  way.  Bishop  Timon,  also,  frequently  made 
generous  donations  of  money  and  provisions  to  the  struggling 
institute.  His  hopes  for  the  deaf  began  to  be  realized  when 
Sister  Mary  Rose  Marsteller  came  from  Carondelet  to  instruct 
the  Sisters  in  the  sign  language.  She  was  not  a  teacher  of  the 
deaf-mutes,  but  during  her  fifteen  years  residence  among  them 
in  St.  Louis,  had  become  an  adept  in  the  signs.  The  first  pupils 
of  Le  Couteulx  were  a  little  German  boy  and  several  small  girls 
from  Canandaigua. 

From  this  humble  beginning  developed  a  great  institution  from 
which  teachers  trained  in  the  most  scientific  methods  of  imparting 
instruction  to  the  deaf  send  out  hundreds  of  these  children  of 


NUMEROUS  FOUNDATIONS 


79 


silence,  fully  equipped  for  the  battle  of  life  and  able  to  take  their 
places  side  by  side  with  their  more  fortunate  brothers  and  sisters 
who  have  not  been  handicapped  by  being  deprived  of  hearing. 
Marvellous  results  have  been  accomplished  by  the  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph  in  this  field  of  education,  and  a  new  and  holier  meaning 
given  to  the  lives  of  many  who  must  otherwise  have  remained 
in  ignorance  of  God  and  of  Truth. 


CHAPTER  VII 


PIONEER  DAYS  IN  MINNESOTA 

(1851-1857) 

When  in  the  early  fall  of  1851,  Mother  Celestine  was  called 
upon  to  send  a  missionary  band  to  St.  Paul,  in  what  was  then 
the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  she  realized  that  the  difficulties 
awaiting  the  pioneers  in  this  great  field,  as  yet  uncultivated,  called 
for  strong  and  resolute  souls,  and  her  natural  tenderness  shrank 
from  exposing  her  Sisters  to  the  hardships  of  a  new  country 
so  recently  reclaimed  from  the  barbarism  of  wandering  tribes  as 
to  be  almost  devoid  of  the  comforts  of  civilized  life. 

She  saw,  however,  a  possible  chance,  presented  for  the  first 
time,  of  converting  the  Indians,  one  of  the  objects  which  the 
Sisters  had  in  view  when  leaving  France  fifteen  years  before. 
After  some  hesitation,  she  chose  for  this  distant  post  Mother  Saint 
John  Fournier,  recently  returned  to  Carondelet  from  Philadelphia, 
[as  noted  in  the  preceding  chapter]  Sister  Philomene  Vilaine. 
Sister  Francis  Joseph  Ivory,  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  full  of 
courage  and  enthusiasm,  and  destined  to  be  the  pioneer  of  many 
missions,  and  Sister  Scholastica  Vasques,  a  young  Sister  of 
French-Spanish  descent,  but  a  native  of  St.  Louis.  These  two 
had  received  the  habit  in  Carondelet  in  1847,  Sister  Scholastica 
being  then  only  seventeen  years  of  age.  What  the  future  held 
for  them  in  the  far  northern  country  towards  which  their  faces 
turned  in  the  fall  of  1851,  they  did  not  know — probably  a  mar¬ 
tyr’s  death  for  one  or  more ;  but  women  whose  community  tradi¬ 
tions  linked  them  with  the  victims  of  the  guillotine  were  not  likely 
to  quail  before  a  tomahawk,  and  they  looked  forward  to  their 
new  mission  with  more  eagerness  than  fear. 

The  St.  Paul  of  the  early  fifties  is  described  as  “a  wild  frontier 

80 


PIONEER  DAYS  IN  MINNESOTA 


81 


town,  where  Indians  in  gay  blankets  stalked  the  streets  and  scalp¬ 
ing  was  still  known.’’  1  Ten  years  had  hardly  passed  since  the 
Sioux  and  the  Chippewas  had  fought  out  their  deadly  feuds  in 
the  neighboring  camping  grounds.  They  had  forced  the  few 
white  families  then  living  in  St.  Paul  to  seek  refuge  on  what 
was  known  as  Mississippi  Island,  opposite  the  city,  in  the  great 
Father  of  Waters.2  The  Catholic  settlers  had  greatly  increased 
since  then.  The  Indians  had  withdrawn  to  their  various  reser¬ 
vations,  where,  held  in  check  by  government  agents,  they  were 
gradually  learning  the  arts  of  peace.  Though  the  greater  num¬ 
ber  were  still  in  the  darkness  of  paganism,  many  had  become 
excellent  Christians  through  the  persevering  efforts  of  two  mis¬ 
sionaries,  Father  Lucien  Galtier  and  Father  Augustine  Ravoux. 
These  were  two  of  the  four  sub-deacons  who  had  accompanied 
Bishop  Loras  in  1838  from  Le  Puy.3 

Father  Galtier  was  the  founder  of  the  city  of  St.  Paul.  A 
man  of  remarkable  character  and  personality,  he  was  in  every 
way  fitted  for  the  great  missionary  work  which  he  was  called 
upon  to  undertake.  Shortly  after  his  ordination  in  1840,  he  was 
sent  by  Bishop  Loras  to  minister  to  the  scattered  population  of 
Minnesota,  then  the  northern  part  of  the  diocese  of  Dubuque. 
For  several  years,  he  was  the  only  resident  priest  within  the 
present  limits  of  Minnesota.  He  established  his  first  mission  at 
Mendota,  or  as  he  called  it,  St.  Peter,  headquarters  of  the  Indian 
fur  trade  in  the  north,  and  beautifully  located  near  the  confluence 
of  the  Minnesota  and  Mississippi  Rivers.  Besides  the  rude 
warehouses  of  the  French  and  Canadian  traders,  Mendota  con¬ 
sisted  of  a  few  log  huts,  in  the  midst  of  which  rose  the  stone 
house  of  the  Territorial  Governor,  General  Sibley.  From  the 
high  bluffs  across  the  river,  old  Fort  St.  Anthony  4  commanded 
a  view  of  the  surrounding  hills,  among  which  were  the  encamp¬ 
ments  of  the  Sioux,  their  tepees  extending  in  picturesque  dis- 

1  joh n  f.  CARR,  “John  Ireland,”  The  Outlook,  April  24,  1908,  p.  972. 

2  augustine  ravoux,  Memoirs  and  Reminiscences,  p.  7.  St.  Paul,  1890. 

3  The  others  were  Remy  Petoit  and  James  Causse. 

4  The  present  Fort  Snelling. 


82  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 


array  down  to  the  water’s  edge.  Near  the  Governor’s  mansion, 
Father  Galtier  built  his  small  log  chapel. 

At  that  time  a  single  log  house  occupied  the  site  of  what  is' 
now  the  capitol  of  Minnesota.  In  October,  1841,  Father  Galtier 
crossed  over  from  Mendota  with  eight  men  who  had  volunteered 
to  build  a  church.  In  a  grove  of  red  and  white  oak  on  high 
ground  near  the  river,  the  church  was  built  of  tamarack  logs 
and  roofed  with  bark-covered  slabs  brought  by  steamboat  from 
Stillwater.  It  was  twenty-five  feet  long,  eighteen  wide,  and  ten 
high,  with  two  windows,  one  on  each  side.  On  November  1, 
1841,  it  was  dedicated  to  St.  Paul,  because  the  name  sounded 
well  and  was  short  enough  to  be  understood  by  all.5  A  city  of 
the  same  name  soon  grew  up  around  the  church.  St.  Paul  be¬ 
came  the  center  of  a  Catholic  population  of  French,  Irish  and 
Swiss,  and  in  ten  years  had  increased  sufficiently  in  size  and  im¬ 
portance  to  be  made  the  see  of  a  new  diocese.  Father  Galtier 
had  then  returned  to  Dubuque,  and  Father  Ravoux  was  alone  in 
Minnesota  until  the  coming  of  Bishop  Cretin  in  the  summer  of 
1851. 

Bishop  Cretin  was  no  stranger  to  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph. 
Shortly  after  his  ordination  at  St.  Sulpice  in  1823,  he  had  been 
sent  by  his  bishop,  Alexander  Raymond  Devie,  “one  of  the  glories 
of  the  episcopate  of  France,”  G  to  Ferney  on  the  French  frontier 
facing  Geneva.  Ferney  was  the  only  part  of  the  diocese  of 
Belley  in  which  Protestantism  had  obtained  a  foothold ;  7  and  in 
this  citadel  of  Calvanism,  the  young  priest  labored  until  1838, 
first  as  vicar  and  then  as  parish  priest,  with  a  devotion  equaling 
that  of  his  friend,  the  Cure  of  Ars.  Bishop  Devie,  in  his  zeal 
for  the  conversion  of  Ferney,  had  opened  there  a  school  for 
girls  in  1824,  which  he  placed  in  charge  of  Mother  St.  Joseph 

5  rev.  Ambrose  mcnulty,  “Beginnings  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  St.  Paul,” 
Minnesota  Historical  Society  Collections,  vol.  X,  p.  233. 

6  john  Ireland,  “Life  of  Bishop  Cretin,”  in  Acta  and  Dicta,  vol.  V,  p. 
61.  St.  Paul,  1917. 

7  Ibid.,  p.  57. 


PIONEER  DAYS  IN  MINNESOTA 


83 

Chanay  from  Lyons.8  Thus  for  fourteen  years,  the  Sisters  of 
St.  Joseph  had  united  their  efforts  for  the  spread  of  the  Faith 
with  those  of  the  future  Bishop  of  St.  Paul.  In  1838,  Father 
Cretin  offered  himself  for  the  foreign  mission  field  and  accom¬ 
panied  Bishop  Loras  to  America,  spending  his  first  winter  in 
St.  Louis.  It  was  during  that  time  that  he  gave  a  three  weeks’ 
mission  in  Carondelet.  He  went  to  St.  Paul  as  its  first  bishop 
July  2,  1851,  and  almost  immediately  made  provision  for  a 
school,  applying  to  Mother  Celestine  for  teachers. 

On  the  evening  of  October  28,  1851,  the  four  Sisters  men¬ 
tioned  above  left  St.  Louis  on  the  steamer  St.  Paul,  bound  for 
the  head- waters  of  the  Mississippi.  Ice  was  already  forming  in 
the  river,  and  the  boat  made  no  stops  until  October  31,  when  it 
reached  Galena,  Illinois.  Here  the  Sisters  remained  over  night 
at  the  home  of  the  chief  official,  Mayor  Dowling,  whose  wife  Avas 
a  Catholic.  On  the  folloAving  morning,  they  heard  Mass  at  a 
comment  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  and  resumed  their  journey. 
A  delay  of  several  hours  at  Dubuque  enabled  them  to  visit  the 
new  home  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary; 
and  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  they  met  Father  Lucien  Galtier,  who 
came  on  board  at  that  point  bound  for  one  of  the  villages  up  the 
river.  From  him  they  learned  a  great  deal  about  the  history  and 
condition  of  the  new  country  to  which  they  were  going,  and  re¬ 
ceived  hearty  wishes  for  their  success.9 

If  the  Sisters  had  believed  in  omens,  they  would  have  con¬ 
sidered  it  a  fortunate  one  to  meet,  on  their  way  to  St.  Paul,  the 
founder  of  that  city,  and  the  architect  of  its  first  cathedral. 
Any  illusions  which  they  might  have  entertained  with  regard  to 
the  city’s  social  aspects,  however,  were  dispelled  by  another  of 
their  fellow  passengers,  Major  Fridley,  agent  of  the  Chippewa 
Indians,  who,  while  praising  the  town,  continued  to  impress  on 

8lebeurier,  Life  of  Mother  St.  Joseph,  p.  109.  Translation  by 
Sister  De  Pazzi  O’Connor,  New  York,  1876. 

9  sister  Ignatius  loyola  cox,  “Early  History  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph 
in  Minnesota,”  Acta  and  Dicta,  vol.  Ill,  p.  225. 


84  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

the  Sisters  the  fact  that  it  was  a  “little  wild.”  10  The  steamer 
arrived  at  its  destination  during-  the  night  of  November  2. 
Morning  disclosed  to  the  passengers  snow-covered  bluffs,  and' 
the  river  filled  with  floating  ice.  The  Sisters  were  met  by  Father 
F french,  whom  the  Bishop  had  sent  to  conduct  them  to  the  home 
of  a  parishioner,  Madame  Turpin.  Under  her  hospitable  roof 
they  remained  until  evening,  when  Bishop  Cretin  himself  came 
to  conduct  them  to  their  new  home. 

This  is  described  by  Sister  Francis  Joseph  Ivory  as  “a  low 
frame  shanty  on  a  bluff  overlooking  the  Mississippi.”  11  It  was 
none  other  than  the  episcopal  palace  to  which  Bishop  Cretin  had 
been  introduced  on  his  arrival  five  months  before.  It  had  recently 
been  vacated  for  the  new  brick  church,  residence,  and  seminary 
combined,  a  few  blocks  away.12  The  convent  was  about  eighteen 
feet  square,  a  story  and  a  half  high,  containing  two  small  rooms, 
one  on  the  ground  floor  and  one  above.  Near  by  was  a  one  story 
kitchen,  twelve  feet  square.  The  log  church  which  Father 
Ravoux  had  enlarged  to  the  imposing  proportions  of  forty-five 
by  eighteen  feet,  stood  a  few  yards  to  the  right,  facing  Bench 
Street  and  the  river.  It  was  now  turned  over  to  the  Sisters  for 
a  girls’  school.  Like  the  convent,  it  contained  little  that  could  be 
called  furniture;  and  the  Sisters  spent  long  hours  filling  in  the 
chinks  in  the  wall  with  newspapers  to  keep  out  the  cold. 

On  November  10,  the  school  was  ready  for  occupancy.  Four¬ 
teen  pupils  were  enrolled  on  that  day.  The  first  name  registered 
was  Elizabeth  Cox,  the  next  two  in  order,  Philomene  and  Lud¬ 
milla  Auge.13  Major  Fridley  of  the  Indian  agency,  sent  his 
daughter,  and  the  Honorable  Henry  M.  Rice,  a  prominent  citizen, 
placed  his  niece  with  the  Sisters.  Both  of  these  men  lived  at 
a  distance  from  the  school,  and  wished  the  two  girls  taken  as 
boarders.  As  there  was  no  accommodation  for  them  in  the  tiny 

10  Ibid.,  p.  255. 

11  Diary  of  sister  francis  Joseph.  Carondclet  Archives. 

12  ravoux,  op.  cit.,  p.  62. 

13  Philomene  Auge  became  a  Benedictine  nun  at  St.  Cloud,  Minnesota, 
and  Ludmilla,  a  Sister  of  St.  Joseph  at  St.  Paul,  Sister  Columba. 


PIONEER  DAYS  IN  MINNESOTA 


85 


convent,  Mr.  Rice  fitted  up  a  one  room  annex  in  a  style,  which, 
compared  with  the  other  meagre  apartments,  was  very  luxurious. 
Soon,  Mary  Bottineau  from  Saint  Anthony  was  added  to  the 
list  of  boarders  in  the  embryonic  institution  which  developed 
into  St.  Joseph’s  Academy. 

The  winter  brought  suffering  and  privation,  but  failed  to 
dampen  the  ardor  of  the  pioneers.  The  interesting  chronicler 
of  early  days,  Sister  Francis  Joseph,  writes : 

We  all  enjoyed  the  novelty  of  our  position.  There  was  a  small 
stove  on  the  first  floor,  the  pipe  of  which  was  set  upright  through 
the  roof.  In  the  opening  around  it,  we  could  count  the  stars.  Rain 
storms  were  frequent.  When  the  rain  poured  down  through  the 
roof,  we,  like  the  man  in  the  Gospel,  took  up  our  beds  and  walked, 
but  only  to  rest  in  the  water  on  the  other  floor.  As  there  was  only 
one  well  in  the  place,  and  this  was  generally  locked,  we  often  had 
a  long  wait  for  our  coffee  in  the  morning.  I  remember  one  day 
that  we  had  nothing  to  eat  until  late  in  the  afternoon,  when  dear 
Mother  surprised  us  with  a  portion  of  a  small  loaf  of  bread  which 
she  had  sent  for  to  a  French  woman.  The  chief  settlers  were 
Indian  traders.  No  farms  had  yet  been  planted,  and  there  were 
no  public  conveyances.  The  only  roadway  to  the  settlements  below 
was  the  Mississippi  River,  which  was  frozen ;  and  wolves  often 
attacked  travellers  as  they  journeyed  over  the  ice.  The  nearest 
place  to  procure  provisions  was  Dubuque,  five  hundred  miles  away. 
So,  very  often,  others  were  as  bad  off  as  ourselves.  This  was  the 
condition  of  affairs  from  November  to  about  the  last  of  May,  when 
an  event  occurred  that  changed  all  for  the  better,  the  arrival  of 
the  first  steamer  after  the  ice  had  broken.  As  the  boat,  City  of 
St.  Paul,  came  steaming  up,  the  excitement  was  intense.  Every 
individual  in  town  was  on  the  river  bank  to  welcome  the  friend 
that  brought  comfort.  All  temporal  difficulty  vanished  with  this 
event.  The  spring  was  charming.  The  prairies  were  in  full  bloom, 
wild  ducks  were  plentiful  on  the  rivers  and  lakes,  and  settlers  were 
coming  in  from  all  quarters.14 

14  Diary,  sister  f.  Joseph.  Carondelet  Archives.  Two  years  after  the 
arrival  of  Bishop  Cretin,  the  number  of  Catholics  in  St.  Paul  had  increased 


86  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Before  spring,  the  number  of  boarders  had  increased  to  eight; 
and  by  April,  the  day  school  was  crowded  out  of  the  vestry  where 
the  first  classes  were  taught,  and  filled  the  body  of  the  log  church.  - 
A  two  story  brick  building  was  begun  with  large,  airy,  class 
rooms  and  pleasant  apartments  for  boarders.  It  was  ready  for 
use  in  September,  and  the  old  church,  St.  Paul’s  first  cathedral, 
became  the  Sisters’  chapel. 

During  the  summer  of  1852,  Mother  Celestine  made  her  first 
visit  to  St.  Paul.  She  had  just  finished  a  visitation  of  the  houses 
in  Philadelphia,  where,  on  May  29,  she  presided  over  a  ceremony 
of  profession  in  the  chapel  of  St.  John’s  orphanage,  the  first 
at  which  the  newly  consecrated  Bishop,  John  Nepomucene 
Neumann,  officiated.  As  there  was  no  direct  communication 
between  Philadelphia  and  St.  Paul,  she  was  obliged  to  return 
to  St.  Louis,  travelling  from  there  by  boat  to  St.  Paul,  which 
she  reached  before  the  end  of  June.  The  great  fatigue  of  this 
long  journey  was  forgotten  by  Mother  Celestine  in  her  enthu¬ 
siasm  over  what  she  loved  to  call  her  “dear  Indian  mission,’’ 
the  good  work  of  instructing  the  Indians  having  actually  com¬ 
menced  during  the  winter  before  her  arrival. 

There  was  a  settlement  of  Winnebago  Indians  at  Long 
Prairie,15  over  a  hundred  miles  northwest  of  St.  Paul.  The 
Winnebagos  were  Catholics,  having  received  the  Faith  first  from 
the  Jesuit  missionaries ;  and  prior  to  1848,  were  located  at  Prairie 
du  Chien.  At  their  own  request,  Bishop  Loras  had  sent  them 
a  priest,  who,  however,  met  with  opposition  from  the  officials 
of  the  agency.  These  even  procured  from  the  governor  of  the 
territory  the  dismissal  of  the  Black-gown  from  the  mission. 
The  chief  then  demanded  a  Catholic  teacher  and  insisted  that 
his  petition  be  presented  to  the  President.  This  secured  the 
appointment  in  1844  of  Father  Cretin  as  their  pastor,  but  he  was 
not  permitted  to  open  a  school.  His  expulsion  also  was  finally 

from  the  small  congregation  in  the  log  chapel  to  fifteen  hundred  souls. 
richard  h.  clarke.  Lives  of  Deceased  Bishops,  p.  442.  New  York,  1888. 

15  Present  county  seat  of  Todd  county,  Minnesota. 


PIONEER  DAYS  IN  MINNESOTA  87 

brought  about  by  the  agent,  and  the  Indians  removed  to  Long 
Prairie.16 

Long  Prairie  fell  within  the  limits  of  the  new  diocese  of  St. 
Paul.  Bishop  Cretin,  in  the  fall  of  1851,  a  few  months  after 
taking  possession  of  his  see,  obtained  tardy  justice  from  the 
government,  and  was  aided  in  the  establishment  of  a  school 
among  the  Winnebagos.  He  sent  Father  Francis  de  Vivaldi 
to  take  charge  of  it.  Father  Vivaldi  soon  found  it  impossible 
to  attend  to  the  school  and  his  various  missionary  duties,  and 
in  the  beginning  of  1852,  begged  for  some  Sisters  for  the  school. 
None  could  come  from  St.  Louis  during  the  winter  months, 
while  the  river  was  blocked  with  ice.  In  this  emergency,  Sister 
Scholastica  Vasques  was  sent  from  St.  Paul  to  Long  Prairie, 
and  remained  from  January  until  March,  instructing  the  Indian 
children  and  preparing  them  for  their  first  Communion.  She 
had  an  assistant  teacher  in  Miss  Legeau,  a  young  French  woman, 
with  whose  kind  and  hospitable  family  she  also  found  a  tem¬ 
porary  home. 

Mother  Celestine  during  her  visit  made  arrangements  for  a 
permanent  mission  among  the  Indians,  and  on  her  return  to 
St.  Louis  in  August,  sent  Sister  Xavier  Husey  and  Sister 
Cesarine  Mulvy,  the  former  to  replace  Sister  Francis  Joseph, 
whom  she  took  back  with  her  to  St.  Louis,  and  the  latter  to  be 
Sister  Scholastica’s  companion  at  Long  Prairie  when  that  mission 
reopened  in  the  fall.  The  only  way  of  reaching  Long  Prairie 
was  by  wagons  which  were  sent  at  regular  intervals  to  St.  Paul 
to  get  supplies  for  the  agency.  It  required  four  days  to  com¬ 
plete  the  journey,  stops  being  made  over  night  at  the  farm  houses 
on  the  way.  In  fine  weather,  the  long  ride  through  the  open 
country  with  its  vast  expanses  stretching  on  all  sides  to  the 
horizon  was  enjoyable;  but  when  the  trip  had  to  be  made  in 
winter,  as  sometimes  happened,  the  experience  was  memorable 
for  the  biting  winds  that  swept  across  the  prairies,  penetrating 
the  thick  blankets  heaped  about  the  luckless  travellers. 

16  j.  c.  shea.  History  of  the  Catholic  Missions,  p.  400.  New  York,  1883. 


88  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 


With  the  exception  of  the  agency  buildings,  Long  Prairie  was 
a  settlement  of  tents  and  wigwams,  and  echoed  nightly  to  the 
music  of  Indian  dances.  The  children  were  sent  regularly  ta 
school,  and  were  instructed  in  the  elementary  branches.  The  girls 
were  also  taught  sewing  and  knitting;  and  a  farmer,  employed 
for  the  purpose,  gave  the  boys  practical  training  in  the  fields. 
Besides  teaching,  the  Sisters  were  required  to  distribute  the  pro¬ 
visions  supplied  by  the  government  to  each  family  in  proportion 
to  its  size.  The  Sisters’  own  accommodations  at  first  were  very 
poor.  Sister  Appolonia  Meyer,  who  spent  several  weeks  at  the 
reservation,  has  left  the  following  description  of  the  house : 

It  was  built  of  logs  and  was  one  story  high,  the  dimensions 
being  about  eighteen  by  twenty  feet.  It  contained  but  one  apartment, 
and  that  we  used  for  parlor,  refectory,  community  room  and  kitchen. 
Our  sleeping  room  was  a  very  small  and  low  attic.  Our  mattress 
was  nice,  clean  hay,  and  our  bedstead  the  floor.  Over  the  hay  we 
spread  our  blankets  and  comfortables  in  truly  primitive  style.17 

During  the  fall  of  1852,  the  house  was  enlarged  and  made 
comfortable;  and  in  May,  1853,  the  two  lonely  missionaries  were 
glad  to  welcome  a  third  member  of  their  community  in  the  person 
of  Sister  Simeon  Kane,  sent  from  Carondelet  with  Sister  Vic- 
torine  Schultz. 

Sister  Victorine  remained  as  music  teacher  in  St.  Paul.  She 
had  a  remarkably  fine  voice,  and  gained  local  fame  through  an 
incident  quite  embarrassing  to  herself.  Bishop  Cretin,  a  great 
lover  of  music,  was  a  promoter  of  congregational  singing,  in 
which  he  expected  all  to  join  who  attended  divine  service,  in¬ 
cluding  the  Sisters.  The  first  time  that  Sister  Victorine’s  sweet 
and  powerful  soprano  was  heard  in  the  hymns,  all  the  other 
singers  gradually  stopped  to  listen.  When  she  realized  her  part 
as  an  unintentional  soloist,  she  desisted  also.  The  choral  part  of 
the  service  was  over  for  that  day,  but  Sister  Victorine’s  musical 

Letter  of  Sister  Appolonia  Meyer,  Archives  of  St.  Paul  Province. 


PIONEER  DAYS  IN  MINNESOTA 


89 

reputation  was  established.  The  school  at  this  time  was  prosper¬ 
ing,  though  the  teaching  staff  was  small,  and  some  changes  were 
made  during  the  summer.  Mother  Saint  John  Fournier  was  sent 
to  Philadelphia,  and  was  replaced  by  Mother  Seraphine  Coughlin, 
who  arrived  from  St.  Louis,  August  18,  1853,  accompanied  by 
Sister  Ursula  Murphy. 

Mother  Seraphine  was  a  native  of  New  York  and  had  received 
the  habit  in  1846  at  Carondelet.  She  is  described  by  Archbishop 
Ireland  as  “a  woman  whose  intelligence,  refinement,  and  saintli¬ 
ness  of  character  stamped  her  in  the  memory  of  the  diocese  as  an 
ideal  daughter  of  Christ  and  an  ideal  servant  of  Holy  Church.”  18 
She  had  been  for  a  short  time  mistress  of  novices  in  St.  Louis, 
and  was  known  and  loved  by  the  Sisters  in  St.  Paul,  who  had 
a  warm  welcome  for  her  when  she  arrived  among  them.  She 
found  an  able  assistant  in  Sister  Xavier  Husey,  an  excellent 
teacher,  and  though  a  strict  disciplinarian,  tenderly  thoughtful 
for  those  under  her  care. 

Many  settlers  were  coming  into  the  territory,  and  with  the 
rapid  growth  of  population,  the  school  increased  in  numbers. 
Several  young  girls  were  received  as  postulants ;  and  in  November 
1853,  on  ^e  insistance  of  the  Bishop,  Sisters  Philomene  Vilaine 
and  Ursula  Murphy,  with  a  postulant,  Miss  Maloney,  were  sent 
to  open  a  school  in  St.  Anthony  Falls,  now  East  Minneapolis, 
the  only  town  in  the  Territory  besides  St.  Paul  where  there  was 
a  resident  priest.  This  priest  was  a  Frenchman,  Father  Ledon. 
His  congregation  was  poor,  and  consisted  of  French-Canadians 
and  a  large  proportion  of  mixed  French  and  Indian  descent. 
Father  Ledon  fitted  up  for  a  school  an  old  frame  house  that  had 
Hen  the  property  of  fur  traders.  This  the  Sisters  occupied  until 
a  larger  one  was  built  the  following  year.  The  new  school  was 
placed  under  the  patronage  of  our  Blessed  Mother  and  called 
St.  Mary's  Convent.  It  was  numerically  small,  and  the  income 
was  very  limited;  but  the  Sisters  found  the  means  of  supporting 
three  orphan  children  whose  parents  had  fallen  victims  to  cholera. 

18  Our  Catholic  Sisterhoods,  p.  3.  St.  Paul,  1902. 


9o  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

This  small  band  was  the  germ  of  the  great  benevolent  institutions 
since  organized  by  the  Sisters  in  the  North. 

From  their  arrival  in  St.  Paul  in  1851,  Bishop  Cretin  Was 
anxious  to  establish  a  hospital.  Land  was  donated  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  by  Henry  M.  Rice ;  and  a  Sioux  chieftain,  then  occupying 
the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Minneapolis,  promised  lumber  from 
his  forests.  It  was  not  until  the  fall  of  1853,  that  the  Bishop 
began  the  erection  of  a  hospital  building,  the  first  of  its  kind  in 
Minnesota.  It  was  of  stone,  four  stories  in  height.  The  dif¬ 
ficulties  attending  its  construction,  due  to  scarcity  of  laborers  and 
material,  were  so  great  that  a  year  elapsed  before  it  was  com¬ 
pleted.  In  the  meantime,  cholera,  which  during  the  few  preced¬ 
ing  years  had  wrought  deadly  havoc  in  regions  further  south, 
reached  St.  Paul,  and  spread  with  great  rapidity.  The  old  log 
church  was  converted  into  a  hospital,  where  the  Sisters,  amateur 
nurses  though  they  were,  gave  themselves  with  zeal  to  the  care  of 
the  cholera  patients.  They  were  reinforced  in  August  by  Sisters 
Augustine  Spencer,  Marcelline  Dowling  and  Euphemia  Murray, 
sent  by  Mother  Celestine  from  Carondelet  for  the  new  hospital. 
The  need  of  such  an  institution  was  more  than  ever  realized,  and 
work  was  pushed  on  the  building,  Bishop,  priests  and  seminarians 
all  lending  their  aid  to  the  workmen  until  it  was  completed  in 
the  fall  of  1854. 

In  May  of  that  year,  the  religious  habit  was  conferred  for  the 
first  time  in  St.  Paul.  The  only  recipient  was  a  young  French- 
Canadian,  Louise  Lemay.  She  was  one  of  four  postulants  who 
had  presented  themselves.  Of  the  remaining  three,  one  was  not 
admitted;  another,  Jane  Bruce,  died  before  the  end  of  her  pro¬ 
bation;  and  the  third,  Julia  Lemay,  cousin  of  Louise,  received 
the  habit  a  few  months  later.  Mother  Celestine,  taking  with  her 
Sister  Margaret  Sinsalmeyer,  a  novice,  went  north  for  the  cere¬ 
mony,  which  took  place  on  May  27  in  the  Cathedral  on  Wabash 
Street.  Bishop  Cretin  presided ;  and  so  great  was  the  excitement 
attending  this  first  ceremony  of  religious  reception  in  St.  Paul, 
that  the  young  novice  left  the  chuiich  without  being  given  a  name 


st.  Joseph’s  hospital,  st.  paul,  Minnesota 
(Original  building  on  extreme  right.) 


PIONEER  DAYS  IN  MINNESOTA 


9i 


by  which  she  would  be  known  in  religion.  She  was  obliged  to 
repair  to  the  sacristy  to  make  known  her  dilemma,  and  the  Bishop, 
opening  his  ordo  to  the  Saint  of  the  day,  conferred  on  her  the 
name  of  Gregory.  Sister  Gregory  and  her  cousin,  afterwards 
known  as  Sister  Pauline,  were  followed  into  the  convent  in  course 
of  time  by  fourteen  other  members  of  their  family,  and  were 
themselves  destined  to  spend  long  lives  of  great  usefulness  in 
the  Congregation.19 

The  stone  building  erected  by  Bishop  Cretin  was  of  ample 
proportions,  and  was  intended  for  the  double  purpose  of  hos¬ 
pital  and  novitiate.  The  few  orphans  left  homeless  by  the 
cholera  also  found  in  it  a  temporary  refuge.  Mother  Seraphine 
took  up  her  residence  here,  exercising  supervision  at  the  same 
time  over  the  academy,  which  was  enlarged  in  the  fall  of  1854 
to  relieve  crowded  conditions.  An  unsuccessful  effort  was  made 
by  the  Bishop  to  obtain  from  the  legislature  a  proportion  of  the 
common  school  fund.20  In  the  support  of  their  schools,  his 
parishioners  were  thrown  upon  their  own  limited  resources. 
Their  chief  asset  in  most  instances  was  their  children,  and  these 
they  sent  to  school  in  large  numbers.  The  school  rooms  were 
filled  to  over-flowing,  though  educational  facilities,  except  such 
as  were  improvised  by  the  Sisters,  were  almost  wholly  lacking. 
In  addition,  the  teachers  were  few.  Until  1855,  only  two  novices 
had  been  received.  On  May  17  of  that  year,  this  number  was 
increased  when  Rose  Cox,  a  young  woman  of  superior  talent 
and  finished  education,  received  the  habit  and  the  name  of  Sister 
Ignatius  Loyola.  On  March  25,  1856,  Bishop  Cretin  presided 
at  the  first  double  ceremony  in  the  chapel  of  the  hospital,  when 
Sister  Marcelline  Dowling,  who  had  come  from  St.  Louis  as  a 
novice,  made  her  vows,  and  Sister  Peter  Richard  Grace  was  in¬ 
vested  with  the  religious  habit.  In  the  meantime,  four  Sisters 
had  come  from  Carondelet,  sent  by  Mother  Celestine,  who  always 

19  Sister  Gregory  died  at  Nazareth  Retreat,  St.  Louis,  July  15,  1894; 
Sister  Pauline  at  St.  Paul,  March  12,  1912. 

20  richard  h.  clarke,  Lives  of  Deceased  Bishops,  p.  424.  New  York 
1872. 


92  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

responded  to  the  call  from  the  North,  though  the  number  of 
Sisters  that  she  could  send  at  any  one  time  was  small,  and  could 
reach  St.  Paul  only  in  the  summer  months,  when  a  river  voyage 
was  possible.  These  four  were  Sisters  Saint  Protais,  Mary 
George  Bradley,  Alexis  Spellicy  and  Alphonsus  Byrne.  All 
were  assigned  to  places  in  the  schools  except  the  last  named,  who 
was  sent  for  hospital  duty. 

The  young  community  was  prospering  under  the  wise  and 
kind  direction  of  Bishop  Cretin.  Many  instances  are  on  record 
of  his  thoughtfulness  for  the  Sisters  during  the  long,  cold  win¬ 
ters,  and  of  his  interest  at  all  times  in  their  welfare  and  their 
work.  His  sympathies  reached  out  to  all  classes,  and  young  and 
old  paid  him  the  homage  of  their  love.  Worthy  of  a  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul  was  his  tenderness  towards  homeless  little  ones.  This 
was  illustrated  in  a  touching  manner  at  New  Year’s  in  1856, 
when  he  sent  to  the  convent  a  tiny  girl  of  three  years  old,  calling 
it  his  New  Year’s  gift  to  the  Sisters.  The  child  had  been  found, 
warmly  wrapped,  by  the  side  of  its  widowed  mother,  who  had 
died  of  cold  and  want  in  her  poor  home.21  A  writer  in  The 
Outlook  (1908)  gives  an  interesting  pen  picture  of 

the  missionary  Cretin,  first  Bishop  of  St.  Paul,  who  had  won  Vol¬ 
taire’s  town  of  Ferney  back  to  the  Faith,  and  here  in  the  wilderness 
lived  many  months  on  crackers  and  cheese  that  he  might  tend  his 
little  flock  without  taxing  their  poverty.  In  sympathy  and  wit  he 
was  an  American,  a  quaint  and  lovable  old  man,  whose  room  con¬ 
tained  a  busy  printing  press  and  a  hundred  mechanical  wonders 
of  his  own  invention.  He  was  idolized  by  the  dozen  boys  of  the 
school,  who  gathered  about  him  of  nights  at  the  organ,  where  they 
learned  to  shout  lustily  in  chorus  both  Yankee  Doodle  and  the 
Marseillaise.22 

Among  the  boys  of  this  school,  conducted  in  the  basement  of 
the  church  under  the  direction  of  Father  Peyregrosse,  was  John 

21  The  little  girl  remained  for  several  years  with  the  Sister,  and  was  then 
adopted  into  the  family  of  General  James  Shields,  of  Civil  War  fame. 

22  john  foster  carr,  The  Outlook,  April  21,  1908,  p.  972. 


PIONEER  DAYS  IN  MINNESOTA 


93 


Ireland.  When  the  pioneer  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  came  to  St. 
Paul,  he  was  a  lad  of  thirteen  years.  His  first  visit  to  the  con¬ 
vent  was  an  unceremonious  one.  He  went  in  capacity  of  guide 
to  a  postulant  who  had  arrived  by  boat  from  Dubuque.  The 
boy  knocked  at  the  door,  and  leaving  the  young  woman  to  wait 
for  a  response,  ran  at  full  speed  down  the  street.  Fifty  years 
later,  as  Archbishop  of  St.  Paul,  he  wrote : 

Without  bidding  of  mine,  there  traces  itself  vividly  on  the  canvas 
of  my  fancy  the  picture  of  the  convent  in  St.  Paul  as  it  was  wont 
in  the  long  ago  to  strike  my  boyish  gaze.  The  awe  and  timidity 
are  back  with  which  I  would  approach  the  little  cottage  and  struggle 
into  speech  in  the  presence  of  the  Sisters.  Never  since,  amid  all 
the  stately  and  renowned  convents  that  I  have  seen  in  my  travels, 
did  I  feel  myself  confronted  with  visions  of  a  life  so  beauteous,  so 
supernatural,  as  when  my  eyes  rested  on  the  early  Sisters  of  St. 
Paul.  I  see  these  Sisters  in  their  little  cottage,  in  their  rustic  school 
room,  in  their  tiny  chapel.  I  see  them  on  the  green  sward  in  the 
summer,  amid  the  deep  snows  in  winter,  stepping  demurely  across 
the  field  on  their  way  from  the  convent  to  the  quaint  Cathedral  on 
Wabasha  Street.  I  see  them  bending  low  to  murmur  words  of  hope 
and  patience  into  the  ears  of  the  poor,  the  sick  and  the  dying;  and 
I  hear  the  answering  words  of  love  and  faith  springing  from  the 
lips  of  men  and  women,  who,  in  the  whisperings  and  deeds  of  the 
Sisters,  caught  glimpses  of  another  world  and  felt  themselves  for 
the  moment  lifted  into  the  life  and  light  of  Heaven.23 


23  JOHN  IRELAND,  Op.  dt.,  p.  7. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  A  DECADE  (1847-1857) 

While  the  Congregation  was  being  successfully  inaugurated 
in  the  East  and  North,  its  interests  nearer  home  were  not  being 
neglected.  Communities  were  sent  from  the  Mother  House  to 
Weston,  Missouri,  and  to  Sulphur  Springs,  Mississippi;  the  school 
in  Cahokia,  from  which  the  Sisters  were  driven  by  the  great 
flood  of  1844,  was  reopened,  and  a  German  orphan  asylum 
begun  in  St.  Louis.  Mother  Celestine  was  also  devoting  her 
wonderful  energy  to  building  up  the  academy  and  novitiate  in 
Carondelet. 

Though  the  convent  had  been  enlarged  in  1846  by  the  addition 
of  the  central,  or  main  wing,  it  still  proved  inadequate ;  and  in 
1849,  a  separate  two-story  building  was  erected  to  the  north  and 
east,  containing  a  chapel  above  and  class  rooms  on  the  ground 
floor.  The  records  of  the  academy  during  these  years  show  an 
average  of  one  hundred  and  forty  pupils,  fifty  of  whom  were 
boarders.  Of  the  remainder,  twenty  were  orphan  girls,  and 
these  were  transferred  in  1849  to  St.  Vincent’s  convent  in  St. 
Louis,  where  the  removal  of  the  boys’  class  rooms  to  a  new  school 
building  made  temporary  accommodations  for  the  orphans  pos¬ 
sible.  Many  southern  planters,  finding  intercourse  with  St. 
Louis  easy  and  pleasant  by  reason  of  the  comfortable  steamers 
that  were  now  plying  the  Mississippi  at  regular  intervals,  brought 
their  daughters  to  the  French  convent  at  Carondelet,  whose  aca¬ 
demic  department  was  presided  over  by  Sister  Mary  Rose  Mars- 
teller. 

Stern  and  capable,  Sister  Mary  Rose  gave  to  the  school  the 
best  efforts  of  her  well  trained  mind.  She  organized  its  teaching 
staff,  and  shaped  its  curriculum  on  the  standard  methods  of  her 

day.  Patronage  and  success  paid  tribute  to  her  ability,  and 

94 


PROGRESS  OF  A  DECADE 


95 

co-workers  honored  her  for  her  sterling  worth.  The  letters  of 
former  students,  referring  to  this  period  of  their  Alma  Mater’s 
history,  never  fail  to  mention  the  high  degree  of  efficiency  which 
it  attained  under  her  strict  regime.  Among  her  assistant  teachers 
was  Sister  Mary  Herman  Ryan,  the  gifted  sister  of  Abram  J. 
Ryan,  poet  priest  of  the  South;  and  her  pupils  included  Caroline 
Palmier,  a  descendant  of  Le  Moine  d’Iberville.  Louisiana,  Ten¬ 
nessee,  Mississippi,  Kentucky  and  Georgia  each  had  represent¬ 
atives  in  the  student  body  of  the  decade  immediately  preceding 
the  Civil  War ;  and  to  these  during  the  following  decade,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Ohio,  Iowa,  Kansas  and  even  Michigan,  Minnesota, 
Pennsylvania  and  New  York  added  their  quotas.  Missouri  was 
at  all  times  largely  represented.  Names  familiar  to  St.  Louisans, 
such  as  Sappington,  Picot,  O’Fallon  and  Papin  appear  on  record 
with  Tucker  and  Hamilton,  Murray,  Sullivan  and  McCann. 
Distinctively  Virginian  is  Pocahontas  Davis;  while  colonial  wars 
and  international  relations  are  suggested  by  America  Calvert  and 
Vienna  Stuart.  Ten  pupils  in  a  class  of  ninety-eight  girls  are 
entered  on  the  registers  as  Protestants ;  and  one,  claiming  a  long 
descent  from  French  Catholic  ancestors,  is  listed  as  having  no 
religion  at  all. 

In  the  curriculum,  as  Americanized  by  Sister  Mary  Rose,  the 
French  language  still  held  a  prominent  place.  There  is  in  the 
library  at  Carondelet,  among  its  treasured  heirlooms,  a  copy  of 
the  “Method  of  Instruction,’’  1  printed  in  Lyons  for  the  Sisters  of 
Saint  Joseph,  and  used  by  our  pioneer  Sisters.  It  is  a  book  of 
three  hundred  pages,  a  model  course  of  study,  with  minute  in¬ 
structions  regarding  the  matter  to  be  taught  and  the  manner  of 
presenting  each  subject.  There  is  no  duty  of  a  Catholic  teacher 
that  does  not  receive  its  share  of  attention  in  this  beautifully 
written  manual.  Prepared  under  the  direction  of  Bishop  Devie, 
it  was  printed  with  his  approbation.  Outside  of  the  elementary 
branches,  with  special  stress  on  religion,  the  Sisters  included 

1 Mcthodc  D’Enscignement  pour  les  Classes  de  Sceurs  de  St.  Joseph , 
Lyons,  1832. 


9 6  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

sacred  and  profane  history,  Latin  and  vocal  music.  To  these, 
Sister  Mary  Rose  added  a  full  secondary  course,  with  mathema¬ 
tics,  rhetoric,  German,  and  the  natural  sciences  of  botany,  physics v 
chemistry  and  astronomy.  The  ornamental  branches  were  not 
overlooked,  and  besides  instrumental  music,  including  instruction 
on  piano,  harp  and  guitar,  were  taught  painting,  tapestry,  fancy 
needle  work,  and  the  old-time  accomplishment  of  moulding  fruit 
and  flowers  in  wax. 

There  was  no  time  left  for  idling  to  a  student  who  followed 
the  crowded  program  at  St.  Joseph’s  in  the  fifties ;  and  delinquents 
received  little  mercy  from  Sister  Mary  Rose,  who  reserved  the 
hidden  depths  of  tenderness  in  her  nature  for  the  weak  and  ailing 
among  her  charges.  Of  one  breach  of  discipline,  she,  herself, 
was  guilty  when  she  admitted  into  the  academy,  exclusively  for 
girls,  a  small  boy,  a  pale  little  cripple,  handicapped  in  the  give 
and  take  of  boyhood  life  at  the  village  school,  where  she  feared 
that  he  would  be  jostled  by  his  playmates.  Unconsciously,  she 
was  casting  bread  upon  the  waters.  Afflicted  in  later  years  by 
a  malady  which  necessitated  the  use  of  a  support  in  walking,  she 
found  herself  everywhere  the  center  of  a  willing  throng  of  school 
girls,  this  one  to  place  her  chair,  that  to  carry  book  or  work  box, 
a  third  to  relieve  her  of  the  awkward  cane,  their  faces  reflecting 
the  gracious  smile  that  lighted  up  her  fine  old  countenance,  and 
that  was  their  envied  recompense. 

The  spirit  of  endurance  characterizing  the  early  settlers  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  who  made  light  of  creature  comforts,  was 
evidently  transmitted  in  some  degree  to  their  daughters,  all  of 
whom  became  sincerely  attached  to  their  surroundings,  primitive 
as  these  must  have  seemed  to  many.  The  academy  furnished  no 
luxuries,  and  many  conveniences  were  wanting.  We  are  not  told 
who  molded  the  “home-made  candles  in  home-made  candle¬ 
sticks”  2  used  during  the  long  evening  study  hours;  but  Sister 
Saiiit  Protais,  who  taught  French  and  penmanship,  fashioned  the 

2  sister  febronia  boyer,  “Autobiography,"  Ms.  in  Convent  Archives. 
Sister  Febronia  entered  the  novitiate  in  1848 — aged  16 — and  died  at  Nazareth 
Retreat  in  1919. 


PROGRESS  OF  A  DECADE 


97 


quill  pens,  the  only  kind  in  use.  In  a  brick  oven  in  the  yard, 
Sister  Antoinette  baked  bread  for  the  plain  but  wholesome  meals, 
and  “it  was  always  good,  because  she  prayed  all  the  time  that 
she  was  making  it.”  3  The  convent  garden  blossomed  and  bore 
fruit  under  the  care  of  Francis  Joseph  L’Ange,  who  was  also  for 
thirty  years  the  parish  organist,  and  with  his  fine  voice  led  the 
choir  in  the  village  church.4  His  little  daughter,  Mary  Celestine, 
a  pupil  of  the  academy,  was  distinguished  among  her  companions 
because  she  had  been  held  at  the  baptismal  font  by  Mother  Celes- 
tine,  sponsor  by  proxy  for  a  distant  relative  of  the  L’Anges. 

The  academic  year  was  long,  and  was  marked  at  its  close, 
late  in  July,  by  the  usual  school  “exhibitions,”  at  which  the  dis¬ 
tribution  of  honors  and  awards  took  place.  The  old  chests  pre¬ 
served  for  years  in  the  convent  attic  were  mutely  eloquent  of  the 
taste  for  stage  finery  and  appurtenances  evinced  by  the  youthful 
actresses,  who  yearly  displayed  their  histrionic  ability  on  open 
air  platforms  erected  in  the  shade  of  the  trees  or  buildings,  and 
who  always  met  with  appreciative  audiences  made  up  of  their 
friends  and  the  people  of  the  village. 

The  academy  was  chartered  in  1853.  Two  years  earlier,  in 
1851,  Carondelet  was  incorporated  as  a  city,  and  the  town  trustees 
were  superseded  by  the  city  council.  One  of  the  first  acts  of 
the  council  was  to  provide  for  public  schools.5  The  village 
school,  hitherto  taught  by  the  Sisters,  gave  place  to  a  free  school 
maintained  by  them  for  the  children  of  the  parish.  The  city  at 
this  time  extended  from  the  Mississippi  River,  four  blocks  west 
to  Michigan  Avenue,  then  an  ungraded  country  road ;  and 
stretched  a  dozen  blocks  or  more  north  and  south  along  the  river 
front.  Carondelet  Road0  was  still  the  principal  thoroughfare 

3  sister  febronia  boyer,  “Autobiography,”  Ms.  in  Convent  Archives. 

4  The  name  of  the  church  was  changed  in  1841  from  Our  Lady  of  Mount 
Carmel  to  Sts.  Mary  and  Joseph. 

5  The  first  public  school  was  organized  July  15,  1851,  this  action  having 
been  suggested  by  the  Mayor  in  his  first  message  May  14,  1851.  Messrs. 
Ford  and  Harding  were  the  first  teachers;  John  Everhart,  the  first  super¬ 
intendent.  Extract  from  Council  Meetings,  May  26,  1852. 

6  Broadway. 


98  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

between  St.  Louis  and  Jefferson  Barracks,  then  an  important 
military  post,  reached  “semi-occasionally’’  by  omnibus  lines,  the 
only  public  means  of  conveyance.7 

Two  blocks  from  the  convent  on  the  north-west  was  the 
Diocesan  Seminary,  transferred  in  1849  by  Archbishop  Ken- 
rick  s  from  the  site  it  had  occupied  in  St.  Vincent’s  parish,  St. 
Louis.  The  Seminary,  opened  under  the  presidency  of  Reverend 
Anthony  O’Regan,  future  Bishop  of  Chicago,  was  a  large,  un¬ 
pretentious  brick  building,  surrounded  by  fine  grounds.  Its 
proximity  to  the  academy  proved  an  advantage  to  the  latter. 
Priests  from  the  Seminary  were  the  convent  chaplains,  and  in¬ 
structed  the  students  twice  a  week  in  Christian  Doctrine  and 
liturgy.  They  taught  the  popular  hymns,  which  remained  favor¬ 
ites  for  years  with  succeeding  classes  of  students.  Archbishop 
Kenrick  lectured  at  the  Seminary,  and  his  frequent  visits  to  the 
academy  after  lecture  hours,  sometimes  in  company  with  dis¬ 
tinguished  guests,  were  always  anticipated  with  pleasure  and 
recalled  with  delight.  During  the  ten  years  that  the  Seminary 
remained  in  Carondelet,9  Fathers  O’Regan,  Hennessey,  Feehan, 
Ryan,  and  O’Hanlon  10  came  to  be  familiar  figures  in  St.  Joseph’s 
chapel  and  study  hall.  They  frequently  assisted,  with  the  Arch- 

7  wm.  c.  breckenridge  in  Missouri  Historical  Collections,  vol.  IV,  p.  50,  St. 
Louis,  1913. 

8  St.  Louis  was  made  an  Archbishopric  in  1847.  On  September  3,  1848, 
Archbishop  P.  R.  Kenrick  was  invested  with  the  pallium  in  Philadelphia  by 
his  brother. 

9  It  was  removed  to  Cape  Girardeau  in  1859. 

10  Rev.  Anthony  O’Regan  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Chicago  in  1854; 
John  A.  Hennessey,  of  Dubuque  in  1866;  Patrick  A.  Feehan,  of  Nashville  in 
1865;  and  Archbishop  of  Chicago  in  1880;  Patrick  J.  Ryan,  coadjutor  of  St. 
Louis  in  1872,  and  Archbishop  of  Philadelphia  in  1884.  The  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph  were  later  called  on  to  open  houses  in  all  these  dioceses  except 
Philadelphia,  where  they  were  already  located.  A  mission  accepted  at  Lyons, 
Iowa,  in  the  diocese  of  Dubuque,  was  cancelled  by  the  Sisters  for  some  un¬ 
explained  reason.  Rev.  John  O’Hanlon,  chaplain  in  1851,  returned  to  Ire¬ 
land,  where  all  his  literary  work  was  done.  In  1891  he  sent  from  Dublin 
to  the  Sisters  in  Carondelet  a  copy  of  his  book,  Life  and  Scenery  in  Mis¬ 


souri. 


PROGRESS  OF  A  DECADE 


99 

bishop  or  Father  Paris,  spiritual  Father,  at  the  receptions  of 
novices  and  at  their  profession. 

These  ceremonies  took  place,  not  on  specified  days  twice  a  year, 
as  came  to  be  the  custom  later  on,  but  whenever  a  postulant  or 
novice  completed  her  term  of  probation  or  noviceship.  They 
were  marked  with  great  simplicity,  and  after  1847  were  always 
held  in  the  convent  chapel  instead  of  in  the  parish  church.  At  a 
profession  of  May  3,  1852,  Bishop  Cretin  was  the  officiating 
prelate.  Though  the  Congregation  was  growing  in  numbers, 
the  increase  was  not  in  proportion  to  the  demands  made  on 
Mother  Celestine  for  Sisters.  The  houses  opened  from  Caron- 
delet  in  the  East  and  North  during  the  decade  gradually  gained 
in  numerical  strength  sufficiently  to  take  care  of  their  own  in¬ 
terests;  but  until  1855,  they  received  recruits  from  the  Mother 
House  in  St.  Louis.  Bishop  McLaughlin  of  Brooklyn,  desiring 
a  community  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  in  that  year,  was  obliged 
to  appeal  to  the  eastern  novitiates;  and  Bishop  Timon’s  repeated 
requests  for  more  teachers  to  take  charge  of  his  cathedral  school 
had  to  be  refused. 

In  the  spring  of  1848,  Mother  Celestine  had  revived  the  mis¬ 
sion  at  Cahokia,  from  which  the  Sisters  were  driven  by  the  great 
flood  of  1844.  For  two  years  after  the  death  of  Father  Loisel 
in  1845,  Cahokia  had  only  temporary  pastors.  The  parochial 
residence  in  the  interval  was  converted  by  the  trustees  of  the 
Commons  into  a  girls’  school  under  secular  teachers.  These 
proving  unsatisfactory,  a  petition  was  addressed  to  Mother  Celes¬ 
tine,  who  answered  by  sending  on  March  10,  Sisters  Philomene 
Yilaine,  Ambrose  Hanson  and  Francis  Joseph  Ivory  to  open 
classes  again  in  “The  Abbey.”  After  three  weeks  spent  in  put¬ 
ting  the  dilapidated  convent  in  order,  they  commenced  school  on 
the  first  of  April,  registering  on  that  day  fifty  girls  from  twelve 
to  eighteen  years  of  age.  In  August,  illness  obliged  the  return  of 
Sister  Francis  Joseph  to  Carondelet. 

The  mission  at  this  time  was  in  charge  of  Father  Ignatius 
Maas,  of  the  St.  Louis  Province  of  Jesuits.  He  remained  a 


ioo  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

year,  securing  before  his  departure,  the  transfer  of  the  school 
property  from  the  trustees  of  the  Commons  to  the  parish.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Father  John  Schultz.  Cahokia  was  still  damp 
and  unhealthy.  Extensive  improvements  made  along  the  river 
bank  lessened  but  failed  to  check  entirely  the  annual  inundation 
of  the  Mississippi.  In  1851,  another  disastrous  overflow  oc¬ 
curred,  reaching  a  height  on  June  7  almost  equal  to  that  of  1844. 
Many  sought  refuge  in  the  upper  story  of  the  convent,  from 
which  all  were  rescued  in  boats ;  and  the  Sisters  were  brought 
back  to  Carondelet.  Some  of  them  returned  the  following  year, 
but  were  permanently  withdrawn  by  Mother  Celestine  in 
1856. 

This  year  of  flood  was  also  one  of  pestilence.  In  1851,  the 
cholera  made  its  second  appearance  in  St.  Louis.  The  first  was  in 
the  summer  of  1849,  during  which  it  raged  with  fearful  violence. 
The  daily  death  rate  averaged  one  hundred,  decreasing  the  city’s 
population  in  two  months  by  six  thousand.  St.  Vincent’s  con¬ 
vent  was  in  the  center  of  the  afflicted  district.  Here  the  small 
community,  Sister  Delphine,  Sisters  Teresa  Struckhof,  Ger¬ 
trude  McGraw,  Frances  Nally  and  Justine  Mulhall  fearlessly 
gave  themselves  to  the  relief  of  their  sick  and  dying  neighbors,  the 
last  two  for  a  short  time  only,  as  both  were  soon  claimed  by  death. 
Sister  Frances  was  much  devoted  to  Sister  Delphine,  and  in  her 
solicitude  for  her  beloved  Superior,  she  wrote  to  Mother  Celestine, 
begging  that  Sister  Delphine  be  called  to  Carondelet,  away  from 
the  danger  to  which  she  was  daily  exposed.  On  the  morning 
following  the  receipt  of  this  message,  June  28,  Mother  Celestine 
went  in  to  St.  Vincent’s,  and  found  Sister  Frances  dying  after 
a  few  hours’  illness.  Sister  Justine,  who  had  made  her  vows 
in  April,  was  only  eighteen  years  of  age,  a  young  woman  of  rare 
innocence,  and  extraordinary  personal  beauty.  After  the  death 
of  Sister  Frances,  Sister  Justine  expressed  herself  to  the  Sisters 
as  sure  that  hers  would  follow.  With  this  conviction,  she  made 
a  careful  preparation  for  the  meeting  with  her  Judge,  and  on 
the  afternoon  of  July  1,  was  seized  with  the  dread  symptoms  of 


PROGRESS  OF  A  DECADE 


IOI 


cholera.  Archbishop  Kenrick,  ceaselessly  attentive  to  his  afflicted 
flock,  anointed  her  that  night,  and  remained  until  after  mid¬ 
night,  that  her  dying  wish  might  be  fulfilled  of  renewing  her 
vows  on  the  morning  of  the  Visitation.  Before  daylight  broke 
that  morning  over  the  stricken  city,  Sister  Justine’s  pure  soul 
had  taken  its  flight  to  God.  When  the  cholera  returned  in  1851, 
Sister  Gertrude  McGraw  was  among  its  first  victims. 

The  plague,  after  both  its  visitations,  left  many  children  home¬ 
less.  When  St.  Joseph’s  Orphanage  was  transferred,  in  the  late 
summer  of  1849,  to  the  new  building  on  Clark  Avenue  and 
Thirteenth  Street,  the  number  of  boys  had  increased  from  eighty 
in  the  previous  year  to  one  hundred  and  fifty.  For  boys  and 
girls  of  German  parentage  made  orphans  by  the  epidemic,  the 
German  Catholics  built  a  home  in  1851  on  Tenth  and  O’Fallon 
Streets,  incorporating  it  under  a  board  of  managers.  It  was 
opened  with  solemn  Mass  and  Benediction  on  the  feast  of  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul,  and  under  his  patronage.  Five  Sisters  from 
Carondelet  were  placed  in  charge,  with  Sister  Angela  Hanner 
as  Superior.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  years  spent  in  the 
Fast,  Sister  Angela  remained  at  St.  Vincent’s  Orphan  Asylum 
for  over  thirty  years.11  The  Jesuit  Fathers  of  St.  Joseph’s 
parish  were  chaplains  during  that  time.  The  large  number  of 
religious  vocations  that  developed  among  its  boys  and  girls  is 
a  glowing  testimony  to  the  character  of  the  institution.  The 
Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  of  the  Precious  Blood,  and  of  St.  Joseph 
each  received  its  quota  of  the  girls;  and  Jesuits,  Benedictines, 
the  diocesan  clergy  and  the  Christian  Brothers  count  among  their 
numbers  men  who  received  their  early  training  at  St.  Vincent’s. 

Twelve  novices  made  their  vows  in  Carondelet  during  1854, 
the  largest  number  that  had  yet  been  professed  in  one  year;  but 
Mother  Celestine  still  found  the  number  too  small  to  meet  the 
growing  needs  of  the  Congregation,  and  appealed  to  the  Mother 
House  at  Lyons  for  recruits.  Lyons  could  not  spare  subjects 

11  In  1889,  the  charge  of  this  institution  was  relinquished  by  the  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph,  and  passed  to  the  Sisters  of  Christian  Charity. 


102  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

for  America  at  that  time,  but  aid  came  from  an  unexpected 
quarter.  In  Savoy,  in  a  Seminary  of  the  diocese  of  Tarentaise, 
was  Abbe  Miege,  brother  of  John  B.  Miege,  Vicar  Apostolic  of, 
Indian  Territory.  Abbe  Miege  was  a  friend  of  the  Sisters  of 
St.  Joseph  in  Moutiers,  and  through  him  his  brother  in  America 
entered  into  correspondence  with  these  Sisters.  The  result  of 
the  correspondence  and  also  of  a  consultation  between  Bishop 
Miege  and  Mother  Celestine  in  the  summer  of  1854,  was  an 
arrangement  made  by  him  with  the  Superiors  in  Moutiers,  who 
promised  to  send  Sisters  from  that  place  to  Carondelet,  with  a 
view  to  undertaking  later  the  education  of  the  Indian  children 
in  his  vast  territory.12 

Mother  Therese  Buisson  was  Superior  of  the  pious  community 
of  Moutiers,  which  had  become  deeply  interested  in  the  foreign 
missions  through  the  Annals  of  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith. 
The  zeal  of  the  Sisters  was  stimulated  by  the  recent  departure 
from  Savoy  of  many  priests  and  religious  for  the  East  Indies, 
among  the  latter,  members  of  the  neighboring  communities  of 
Annecy  and  Chambery.13  Mother  Therese  had  no  difficulty  in 
getting  volunteers  for  America  and  from  them  she  chose  Sister 
Euphrasia  Meiller,  late  Superior  at  St.  Sigismond,  Sister  Saint 
John  Facemaz,  Sister  Gonzaga  Grand,  and  Sister  Leonie  Martin. 
The  most  fervent  daughters  of  Moutiers,  Abbe  Bouchage  calls 
this  first  missionary  band  of  a  community  which  he  describes  as 
composed  of  “select  souls  whose  names  should  be  inscribed  on 
the  tablets  of  history  for  the  edification  of  the  faithful  and  as  an 
example  to  the  religious  of  the  future.”  14 

Leaving  Moutiers  on  September  3,  1854,  accompanied  by 
Mother  Therese,  the  missionaries  made  brief  visits  to  the  com- 

12  The  jurisdiction  of  Bishop  Miege  extended  over  Kansas  and  Nebraska, 
and  included  all  the  Indian  tribes  west  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  He  was  then 
residing  at  St.  Mary’s  Kansas,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Potawatomi 
settlements. 

13  The  first  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  to  go  to  the  Indies  left  France  in  1848. 
In  the  fall  of  1853,  another  band  of  six  left,  accompanied  by  several  Fathers 
of  the  Society  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  bouchage,  op.  cit.,  pp.  346,  499. 

14  BOUCHAGE,  op.  dt.,  p.  295. 


PROGRESS  OF  A  DECADE 


103 


munities  of  St.  Sigismond  and  Chambery,  and  then  proceeded  by 
stage  to  Lyons.  Here  they  were  warmly  received  by  Mother 
Sacred  Heart  Tezenas,  successor  to  Mother  Saint  John  Font- 
bonne.  At  Lyons,  they  parted  with  Mother  Therese,  and  placing 
themselves,  as  did  the  missionaries  of  1836,  under  the  protection 
of  our  Lady  of  Fourvieres,  proceeded  to  Paris,  where  they  re¬ 
mained  for  a  short  time  at  a  house  of  the  Congregation  in  the 
Rue  Monceau.  They  sailed  from  Havre  on  October  21,  and  by 
a  strange  coincidence,  the  name  of  the  vessel  was  Heidelberg ,  the 
same  as  that  on  which  the  first  Sisters  came  in  1836.  On  board 
was  Right  Reverend  Augustus  Mary  Martin  with  four  priests 
and  several  seminarians  for  his  diocese  of  Natchitoches,  Louisi¬ 
ana. 

The  Sisters  landed  at  New  Orleans  December  7,  the  same  date 
on  which  another  band,  as  yet  strangers  to  them,  arrived  in 
Canandaigua.  After  a  few  days  spent  with  the  Tertiary  Car¬ 
melites  in  New  Orleans,  they  proceeded  by  steamer  to  St.  Louis, 
which  they  reached  December  21,  and  where  they  were  welcomed 
with  open  arms  by  Sister  Felicite  at  St.  Joseph’s  Orphan  Asylum. 
On  the  following  day,  Mother  Celestine,  who  had  come  in  to  meet 
them,  conducted  them  to  Carondelet.  Brave  and  courageous 
souls,  who  had  obeyed  literally  the  Gospel  precept  to  forsake 
home  and  country,  they  entered  at  once  into  the  active  life  of  the 
community,  to  which  at  least  three  of  them,  were  to  render  long 
and  faithful  service.15  Though  young  in  years,  they  were  all 
women  of  unusual  ability,  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  principles 
of  the  religious  life,  and  animated  by  the  spirit  of  sacrifice  that 
characterized  the  pioneers  of  1836.  In  Sister  Saint  John,  who 
was  in  her  thirtieth  year  and  had  spent  eleven  years  in  the  con- 

15  Sister  Euphrasia  Meiller  died  in  March  1859.  The  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph 
did  not  go  to  Bishop  Miege’s  diocese.  On  the  occasion  of  that  prelate’s  visit 
to  St.  Louis  during  the  Provincial  Council  of  1858,  the  Superior  of  a  colony 
of  Sisters  of  Charity  from  Nashville,  looking  for  a  home  in  another  dio¬ 
cese,  appealed  to  him  on  the  advice  of  the  Jesuit,  Father  De  Smet ;  and  with 
the  permission  of  Archbishop  Kenrick,  was  received  with  her  community 
under  his  jurisdiction. 


104  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

vent,  Mother  Celestine,  herself  a  woman  of  deep  piety,  was 
quick  to  recognize  the  strong  and  enlightened  faith  that  measured 
temporal  things  only  in  the  light  of  eternity,  and  the  remarkable 
spiritual  insight  that  rendered  her  peculiarly  fitted  for  the  guid¬ 
ance  of  others.  Sister  Saint  John  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
Council  at  the  Mother  House,  and  in  that  capacity,  rendered 
invaluable  assistance  to  Mother  Celestine. 

In  the  spring  following  the  arrival  of  the  Sisters  from  France, 
Mother  Celestine  opened  at  Sulphur  Springs,  Mississippi,  the  first 
mission  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  in  the  South.  This  was  done 
at  the  request  of  the  Bishop  of  Natchez,  James  Oliver  Van 
de  Velde,  a  former  president  of  St.  Louis  University.  The 
diocese  of  Natchez,  established  in  1853,  embraced  the  entire  state, 
and  contained  few  priests  or  churches  and  a  scattered  Catholic 
population.  At  Sulphur  Springs,  there  was  a  small  settlement 
of  good  Catholic  families  who  had  built  a  church  and  had  a 
resident  pastor,  Father  Courjault.  He  secured  for  a  Sisters’ 
school  a  large  building  in  the  midst  of  a  ten  acre  pine  grove,  and 
called  it  the  Convent  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Woods.  For  this  new 
home,  four  Sisters  left  Carondelet  on  March  19,  1855,  Sister 
Cecilia  Renot,  as  Superior,  Sisters  Gabriel  Corbett,  Leonie  Mar¬ 
tin,  and  Chrysostom  McCann.  They  travelled  by  steamer  to 
Vicksburg,  where  they  were  met  by  Bishop  Van  de  Velde,  and 
conducted  to  Canton,  a  day’s  journey  by  stage. 

During  this  ride,  they  were  treated  for  the  first  and  only  time 
to  an  exhibition  of  the  bigotry  which  had  spread  throughout 
many  parts  of  the  country  in  the  wake  of  the  Know-Nothing 
movement.  The  only  other  occupant  of  the  stage  boarded  it 
before  it  reached  Canton,  and  was  evidently  a  member  of  the 
Know-Nothing  party.  After  surveying  his  fellow  travellers  for 
some  time,  the  man  began  a  series  of  insulting  remarks  to  the 
Bishop,  punctuating  them  now  and  then  by  spitting  tobacco 
juice  at  him  and  repeating:  “I  think  you  are  a  Catholic  priest.” 
The  Bishop  took  no  notice  of  these  insults  until  the  stage  stopped 
for  a  relay  of  horses.  Then  with  a  quick  movement,  and  prob- 


PROGRESS  OF  A  DECADE 


105 


ably  with  a  humorous  smile  at  the  new  role  which  he  was  about  to 
play,  he  forcibly  ejected  his  tormentor.  The  latter,  silenced  and 
intimidated  by  this  unexpected  turn  of  affairs,  made  the  remain¬ 
der  of  the  journey  on  the  outside  of  the  stage  with  the  driver. 

At  Canton,  the  party  remained  over  night  at  the  home  of  a 
prominent  Catholic  gentleman,  Judge  Luckett,  who  gave  them 
a  cordial  welcome,  in  spite  of  his  jocosely  expressed  fear  of  being 
mobbed  if  he  were  known  to  harbor  nuns.  Sulphur  Springs  was 
reached  by  private  carriage  the  next  day.  Here  any  doubts 
which  the  Sisters  may  have  entertained  as  to  the  hospitality  of 
Mississippi  were  speedily  and  finally  dispelled.  A  devoted  and 
warm  hearted  people  received  the  strangers  as  angels  in  disguise. 
They  were  in  Sulphur  Springs  only  a  few  days,  however,  and 
had  not  yet  commenced  their  school,  when  Father  Courjault  was 
carried  away  by  death.  Yellow  fever  had  already  appeared  in 
the  diocese,  and  some  cases  occurred  at  Canton  where  Father 
Courjault  was  called  immediately  after  the  arrival  of  the  Sisters. 
He  fell  a  victim  to  the  plague  there,  and  was  buried  at  the  Springs 
according  to  his  request,  in  a  place  where  the  Sisters  might  pass 
his  grave  on  their  way  to  Mass  and  be  reminded  to  pray  for  his 
soul. 

His  successor,  Father  Guillon,  is  described  by  the  Sister  his¬ 
torian  of  Sulphur  Springs  as  “a  saintly  man,  who,  like  his  divine 
Master,  loved  souls  and  little  children.”  He  at  once  manifested 
a  deep  interest  in  the  school,  which  was  begun  under  his  super¬ 
vision  and  enrolled  thirty  day  pupils  and  fifteen  boarders.  The 
latter  were  large  girls  from  Natchez,  Jackson  and  Vicksburg. 
A  Sunday  school  was  also  organized  for  the  colored  children  of 
the  neighboring  plantations.  One  of  the  pleasant  memories 
which  the  Sisters  entertained  in  later  years  of  Sulphur  Springs 
was  the  love  shown  by  these  children  of  bondage  for  their  in¬ 
structors,  and  their  gratitude  for  the  crumbs  broken  to  them  from 
the  Bread  of  Life. 

Just  six  months  after  they  had  left  Carondelet,  the  Sisters 
were  deprived  of  their  beloved  Superior,  who  succumbed  to  an 


10 6  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 


attack  of  yellow  fever.  Sister  Cecilia,  who  during  her  short 
term  of  office  had  endeared  herself  to  all  by  her  zeal  and  gentle¬ 
ness,  gave  up  her  young  life  on  September  19,  after  a  brief  illness. 
In  November  the  revered  Bishop  Van  de  Velde,  left  almost 
alone  in  the  midst  of  a  stricken  flock,  fell  a  victim  to  the  southern 
plague  then  raging  in  Natchez.  In  his  successor,  Bishop  Elder, 
the  small  community  at  Our  Lady  of  the  Woods  happily  found 
new  support;  and  under  the  direction  of  Sister  Leonie  Martin, 
the  school  continued  to  increase  in  numbers  and  popularity  until 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War. 

The  breath  of  pestilence  which  swept  the  Mississippi  Valley 
during  the  first  half  of  this  decade,  1850  to  i860,  penetrated 
Canada.  Some  designated  by  the  name  of  typhus,  others  called 
cholera,  the  plague  that  spread  sickness  and  death  in  Toronto 
early  in  1856,  and  carried  away  among  its  victims  several  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Congregation  there,  including  Mother  Delphine  Font- 
bonne.  Many  trials  had  fallen  to  the  lot  of  the  gentle  Superior, 
all  of  which  she  recorded  sadly  but  without  complaint  in  a  letter 
written  a  few  weeks  before  her  death  to  Sister  Felicite.  In  con¬ 
cluding,  she  wrote : 

Twenty  years  yesterday,  the  feast  of  St.  Anthony,  we  embarked 
at  Havre  du  Grace.  Who  could  tell  then  that  in  twenty  years  we 
would  all  be  living  still  and  separated  from  each  other  by  such  great 
distances?  We  indeed  would  not  have  believed  it.  How  we  ought 
to  admire  the  Providence  of  God  which  has  protected  us  until  now. 
Think  of  me  sometimes  in  your  prayers.  Give  my  love  to  all  our 
dear  Sisters.16 

The  news  of  her  death,  which  occurred  February  8,  1856, 
caused  profound  sadness  in  Carondelet,  where  she  had  spent  so 
many  years  of  privation  and  of  happiness.  The  four  and  a-half 
years  which  she  spent  in  Canada  had  produced  good  results. 
The  community  there  now  numbered  thirty  members  in  charge 
of  four  parochial  schools  and  three  orphanages,  one  of  the  latter 

16  Letter  dated  Jan.  i8;  1856. 


PROGRESS  OF  A  DECADE 


107 

in  the  diocese  of  Hamilton.  Mother  Delphine  was  succeeded  in 
the  government  of  the  Congregation  in  Toronto  by  Mother 
Teresa  Struckhof,  who  had  been  sent  there  from  St.  Louis  a  few 
years  before,  and  who  after  two  years  in  this  position,  returned 
to  Carondelet,  first  spending  a  short  time  in  Wheeling,  Virginia. 

In  the  twenty  years  of  its  existence  in  America,  the  Congrega¬ 
tion  had,  indeed,  spread  to  distant  fields  of  labor.  The  pioneers 
had  watched  its  growth  from  the  band  of  six,  struggling  against 
poverty  in  their  log  cabin  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  to 
more  than  thirty  times  that  number  conducting  schools,  orphan 
asylums  and  hospitals  in  nine  dioceses  as  widely  separated  from 
each  other  as  St.  Louis  and  Brooklyn,  Toronto  and  Natchez. 
Archbishop  Kenrick,  with  broad  and  splendid  vision,  had  en¬ 
couraged  the  sending  of  communities  from  Carondelet  to  dioceses 
other  than  his  own,  wherever  there  was  pressing  need,  and  now 
thought  the  time  opportune  to  stabilize  and  strengthen  the  Con¬ 
gregation  in  America  by  a  centralized  government,  formally 
approved  by  the  Holy  See.  As  we  have  seen  in  a  preceding 
chapter,  the  Constitutions  of  1650  were  written  for  isolated 
communities.  After  the  Revolution,  the  ecclesiastical  authorities 
in  Lyons  united  the  houses  of  the  Archdiocese  under  a  general 
superior  and  obtained  on  May  5,  1829,  a  decree  of  commendation 
from  Rome.17  This  extended  to  such  houses  only  as  were  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Archbishop  of  Lyons;  and  the  Sisters 
in  America,  faced  by  the  impossibility  of  speedy  and  satisfactory 
communication  with  Europe,  followed  the  example  of  those  in 
Bourg  and  Chambery,  and  ceased  to  depend  on  the  Mother  House 
there. 

The  difficulties  arising  from  national  prejudice  and  changes 
of  government  which  had  intervened  in  Europe  to  prevent  the 
extension  of  a  central  authority  over  houses  established  in  other 
than  the  parent  country,  were  non-existent  in  America.  Still 
the  bond  existing  between  the  Mother  House  at  St.  Louis  and 
the  communities  in  other  dioceses  was  only  that  inspired  by  per- 

17  “Notice  Historique,”  Constitutions  of  Lyons ,  1910. 


io8  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

sonal  devotion  to  Mother  Celestine  and  confidence  in  her  superior 
judgment.  A  loyal  friendship,  besides,  existed  among  the  Sis¬ 
ters  themselves,  all  of  whom  turned  to  Carondelet  as  the  cradle, 
of  the  Congregation  in  America,  just  as  those  in  Europe  looked 
with  special  affection  upon  Le  Puy.  The  seal  of  authority  was 
required  to  make  this  tie  binding.  Concerted  action  on  the  part 
of  the  various  communities  was  necessary  for  this,  as  well  as  the 
consent  of  their  respective  Ordinaries,  who,  under  existing  cir¬ 
cumstances,  felt  themselves  within  their  rights  in  asserting  juris¬ 
diction  over  the  houses  established  in  their  respective  dioceses  at 
their  own  request. 

Advised  by  Archbishop  Kenrick  and  with  his  cooperation, 
Mother  Celestine  planned  a  general  visitation  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  about  a  closer  union,  before  proceeding  to  France 
to  consult  with  superiors  there,  and  eventually  to  Rome.  She 
was  obliged  to  defer  this  on  account  of  failing  health.  However, 
in  the  spring  of  1856,  Father  Augustus  Paris,  spiritual  Father 
of  the  community  in  St.  Louis,  undertook  a  journey  to  Europe, 
stopping  at  the  Eastern  houses  on  his  way  to  New  York,  and 
visiting  many  of  those  in  Europe,  especially  in  Lyons  and 
Moutiers.  In  Lyons,  a  movement  for  centralized  authority, 
which  became  effective  two  years  later,  in  1858,  was  already  on 
foot  under  the  supervision  of  Cardinal  de  Bonald,  Ecclesiastical 
Superior  of  the  Sisters  in  the  Archdiocese.  It  was  thought  there, 
as  in  St.  Louis,  that  the  exigencies  of  the  times  required  “  a  dif¬ 
ferent  organization,  not  in  rules  relating  to  the  personal  conduct 
of  the  Sisters,  but  for  the  government  of  the  Institute.”  18 
From  Europe,  Father  Paris  wrote  19  urging  Mother  Celestine  to 
make  the  intended  visit  to  all  the  convents  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada  as  soon  as  her  health  permitted.  On  his  return  in 
October,  he  reported  that  the  superiors  abroad  favored  a  general 
form  of  government  in  America  independent  of  any  European 
house  as  best  adapted  to  the  needs  of  this  country.20  He  was 

18  cardinal  caverot,  in  Constitutions.  Lyons,  1882. 

19  Letter  of  May  11,  1856,  in  Carondelet  Archives. 

20  Community  Annals,  p.  234. 


PROGRESS  OF  A  DECADE 


109 


accompanied  by  two  Sisters  sent  from  Moutiers  to  the  aid  of  the 
American  missions,  Sister  Victorine  and  Sister  Cecelia  Rosteing. 

Mother  Celestine’s  contemplated  visitation  was  never  made, 
and  the  project  which  she  had  so  much  at  heart  was  destined  to 
further  postponement.  Her  health  was  now  becoming  more  and 
more  a  matter  of  solicitude  to  the  Sisters,  by  all  of  whom  she 
was  singularly  loved.  The  arduous  labor  of  twenty  years  had 
wrought  its  ravages,  and  early  in  1857,  it  was  seen  by  all  that 
no  amount  of  care  and  rest  could  ward  off  the  fatal  malady  that 
was  preying  upon  the  life  and  energy  of  the  revered  Superior. 
For  long  weeks,  the  alternate  fear  and  hope  experienced  by  the 
Sisters  was  shared  by  the  pupils  in  the  academy,  accustomed  to 
listen  for  the  clink  of  her  beads  as  she  came  through  the  corridors 
on  her  morning  visits  to  the  study  hall ;  and  by  the  poor,  who 
had  never  found  her  store  of  wordly  goods  too  meagre  to  be 
shared  with  them.  All  had  experienced  her  quick  and  ready 
sympathy  in  joy  and  sorrow. 

Generous  as  her  sacrifice  had  been  in  leaving  home  and  country, 
Mother  Celestine  felt  the  parting  with  them  keenly,  and  the  trials 
of  life  in  the  New  World  often  bore  heavily  on  her.  Letters 
from  her  aged  father,  the  last  written  in  anticipation  of  his  own 
approaching  end,  full  of  affectionate  solicitude  for  the  absent 
daughter,  and  of  loving  messages  from  sisters  and  brother,  who 
longed  to  clasp  her  in  their  arms,  could  not  but  make  more 
poignant  the  pain  of  exile ;  but  the  Sisters  of  her  community 
knew  only  the  cheery  smile,  the  gracious  manner  and  joyousness 
of  intercourse  that  characterized  her.  She  was  not  a  woman  of 
many  words,  and  the  letters  that  she  left  are  very  brief ;  but  by 
daily  acts  of  loving  kindness,  she  taught  great  lessons  that  sank 
into  the  hearts  of  her  associates,  equals  or  inferiors,  everywhere 
and  became  traditions  in  the  Congregation. 

For  the  Sisters  who  gathered  round  her  in  her  last  illness,  she 
had  but  one  message.  She  urged  them  to  keep  up  the  beautiful 
customs  that  had  helped  so  much  to  strengthen  the  spirit  of 
charity  and  zeal.  These  were  her  distinctive  traits  in  life,  and 
in  dying,  she  would  bequeath  them  to  her  daughters.  On 


no  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

^Saturday,  June  6,  it  was  evident  to  her  faithful  nurses,  Sister 
Benedict  Butler  and  Sister  Febronia  Boyer,  that  the  end  was  near. 
The  last  rites  of  the  church  were  administered  by  Father  Feehan, 
then  president  of  the  diocesan  Seminary;  and  on  the  afternoon 
of  Sunday,  June  7,  Mother  Celestine  died,  surrounded  by  her 
sorrowing  community. 

At  the  solemn  Requiem  Mass  on  June  9,  Archbishop  Kenrick, 
who  had  frequently  visited  and  consoled  the  patient  in  her  illness, 
assisted.  Fie  took  for  the  text  of  his  eloquent  panegyric  the 
Scriptural  passage,  “As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  fountains  of 
water,  so  doth  my  soul  pant  after  Thee,  my  God.”  The  press 
of  St.  Louis  paid  the  following  tribute  to  the  beloved  dead : 

The  venerable  and  beloved  Mother  is  gone.  He  who  remunerates 
his  servants  according  to  their  works  called  her  in  His  own  time. 
If  a  reward  is  promised  to  the  cup  of  cold  water  given  for  the  sake 
of  Jesus,  will  not  hers  be  exceedingly  great?  Full  of  holiness  in 
life,  her  death  was  that  of  those  who  are  called  “blessed/’  During 
the  painful,  lingering  illness,  as  the  parting  hour  drew  near,  it  was 
edifying  as  well  as  consoling  to  those  who  had  the  happiness  of  be¬ 
holding  the  end  of  the  devoted  woman,  of  the  saintly  religious — the 
perfect  detachment  from  the  world,  the  entire  resignation  to  the  will 
of  God,  the  firm  hope,  the  charity  without  an  alloy  of  earth  to  deprive 
it  of  its  merits.  The  funeral  on  the  ninth  presented  a  scene  that 
Catholics  cannot  easily  forget.  After  the  solemn  High  Mass,  the 
Most  Reverend  Archbishop  preached,  addressing  himself  to  the 
spiritual  children  of  Mother  Celestine.  While  he  encouraged  them, 
he  paid  a  most  beautiful  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased ; 
and  as  he  spoke,  so  earnestly  and  so  simply  eloquent,  the  tears  of 
the  many  who  were  present  told  how  much  she  was  beloved.  As 
the  ceremonies  concluded,  the  procession  moved  slowly  toward  the 
grave.  The  cross-bearer,  the  students  of  the  ecclesiastical  seminary, 
the  coffin  borne  by  the  Sisters,  the  long  train  of  religious,  the  young 
ladies  of  the  academy,  nearly  one  hundred  in  all ;  and  finally,  crowds 
of  citizens,  each  as  if  some  dear  friend  were  dead.  The  solemn 
chants  were  over,  the  last  prayers  were  said,  the  clay  fell  upon  the 
coffin,  and  the  spiritual  children  poured  forth  their  grief  around 


PROGRESS  OF  A  DECADE 


hi 


their  Mother’s  grave — then  all  retired  from  the  sacred  place  each 
one  feeling  the  truth  of  what  is  written:  “Blessed  are  the  dead 
who  die  in  the  Lord !”  21 

21  Newspaper  clipping.  Name  and  date  not  preserved. 


CHAPTER  IX 


PERIOD  OF  REORGANIZATION  :  GENERAL  GOVERNMENT 
PAPAL  APPROBATION  (1858-1867) 

The  establishment  of  a  Generalate  was  finally  brought  about 
by  Reverend  Mother  Saint  John  Facemaz.  The  election  of  a 
successor  to  the  revered  Mother  Celestine  took  place  on  June  19, 
ten  days  after  her  interment.  It  was  presided  over  by  Arch¬ 
bishop  Kenrick  and  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Mother  Seraphine 
Coughlin,  at  that  time  Superior  in  St.  Paul.  She  had  made  her 
novitiate  in  Carondelet,  where  she  recived  the  habit  in  1846,  had 
filled  several  offices  of  trust  in  the  Congregation  before  her  ap¬ 
pointment  to  the  northern  missions,  and  was  much  loved  and 
esteemed  by  all  who  knew  her.  To  the  disappointment  of  all, 
she  declined  the  responsible  position  now  offered  her.  In  her 
humble  estimate  of  herself,  she  pleaded  inability,  representing  at 
the  same  time  the  delicate  state  of  her  health.  A  few  months  pre¬ 
vious  to  the  election,  St.  Paul  had  lost  Bishop  Cretin,  whose  death 
occurred  in  February,  1857.  Monsignor  Ravoux,  Administrator, 
supported  the  petition  of  Mother  Seraphine,  feeling  that  her 
presence  in  the  North  would  facilitate  matters  in  a  time  so 
critical  for  the  bereaved  diocese.  The  Archbishop  of  St.  Louis, 
to  whom  these  representations  were  made,  accepted  her  resigna¬ 
tion,  and  exercising  his  right  as  Ecclesiastical  Superior,  appointed 
in  her  stead,  .Mother  Saint  John  Facemaz.  The  wisdom  of  his 
selection  was  manifested  by  subsequent  events. 

The  new  Superior  was  cast  in  the  heroic  mold  of  martyrs 
and  ascetics.  She  would  have  been  to  St.  Jerome  had  she  lived 
in  his  day,  a  disciple  after  his  own  heart.  When  the  Sisters  of 
Saint  Joseph  in  Annecy  were  beginning  their  missionary  labors  in 
India  in  1848,  she  burned  with  the  desire  of  accompanying  them. 
Here  was  a  chance  of  saving  souls,  of  suffering,  of  possible 


1 12 


MOTHER  SAINT  JOHN  FACEMAZ 
1824-I9OI 


PAPAL  APPROBATION 


ii3 

martyrdom.  Overlooked  by  her  superiors  on  that  occasion,  she 
accepted  the  martyrdom  of  silent,  unreasoning  obedience,  daily 
observance  of  the  smallest  duties,  and  the  constant  lifting  of  the 
commonplace  into  the  plane  of  the  supernatural  that  characterized 
her  through  life.  Sent  to  the  aid  of  the  American  missions  in 
1854,  she  embraced  with  enthusiasm  the  opportunity  offered,  as 
she  thought,  of  extending  the  Kingdom  of  God  to  the  benighted 
pagans  of  the  New  World. 

“Your  child,  exiled  in  a  strange  land  for  the  good  of  souls,” 
she  called  herself  in  writing  to  the  Holy  Father,  Pius  IX,  to 
whom  she  was  reverently  devoted,  and  whose  sorrows  bore  upon 
her  as  a  personal  grief.  In  the  exercise  of  her  authority,  she 
countenanced  no  half  measures,  but  expected  of  all  a  generous 
spirit  of  sacrificing  everything,  even  as  she  herself  had  done. 
She  had  piercing  dark  eyes,  set  deep  under  a  broad  and  prominent 
forehead,  and  their  quick  glance  detected  every  remissness;  but 
she  never  failed  to  notice  the  last  sign  of  weariness  or  suffering, 
and  such  occasions  revealed  the  deep  tenderness  of  her  nature. 
To  these  qualities  were  added  a  shrewd  and  practical  business 
instinct,  and  a  talent  for  organization  that  was  soon  felt  in  the 
Congregation. 

From  her  arrival  in  America,  she  was  closely  associated  with 
Mother  Celestine,  and  at  the  time  of  the  latter’s  death,  was  senior 
member  of  the  Council  at  the  Mother  House.  As  such,  she  was 
actively  interested  in  the  plan  for  the  adoption  of  general  govern¬ 
ment.  She  was  preparing  to  carry  this  matter  to  completion, 
when  a  further  postponement  was  occasioned  by  an  unfortunate 
incident  which  also  put  to  the  test  her  strong  spirit  of  fortitude. 
On  the  morning  of  January  21,  1858,  a  fire  of  unknown  origin 
broke  out  in  the  basement  of  the  convent,  and  before  being  dis¬ 
covered,  had  made  such  headway  that  the  destruction  of  at  least 
a  great  part  of  the  building  was  evident  from  the  first. 

The  methods  of  the  Carondelet  fire  department  were  still  rather 
primitive;  but  the  firemen,  reinforced  by  many  of  fhe  citizens 
and  by  the  faculty  and  students  of  the  ecclesiastical  Seminary, 


1 14  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

who  worked  heroically  under  the  direction  of  Father  Feehan, 
succeeded  in  saving  the  north  wing,  in  which  were  located  the 
principal  departments  of  the  academy.  A  relic  of  Saint  Agnes 
was  placed  in  the  corner  stone  of  this  wing  when  it  was  built 
by  Mother  Celestine  in  1840;  and  the  Sisters  piously  believed 
that  through  the  young  martyr’s  intercession  came  the  favorable 
wind  that  directed  the  flames  southward.  These  encircled  the 
log  cabin  convent  in  their  fury,  and  the  only  visible  link  connect¬ 
ing  Saint  Joseph’s  with  pioneer  days  disappeared. 

No  kindness  could  exceed  that  shown  during  the  ensuing  days 
by  friends  and  neighbors,  who  provided  for  every  temporary 
want,  with  special  solicitude  for  Mother  Saint  John  and  Sister 
Antoinette.  Both  of  these  were  seriously  ill  at  the  time  the  fire 
occurred;  and  while  flames  raged  below,  they  were  lifted  through 
second  story  windows  and  carried  to  places  of  safety.  The 
boarders  living  in  St.  Louis  and  nearby  places  returned  to  their 
homes  temporarily;  but  the  day  school  was  continued  almost 
without  interruption  in  a  large  store  building  on  Broadway  given 
for  the  purpose  by  the  Poupeney  family.  A  time  of  great  mis¬ 
fortune  is  a  time  of  general  sympathy  and  helpfulness.  This 
the  Sisters  experienced,  and  were  proud  and  happy  to  see  a  new 
convent  arise  in  a  short  time,  following  the  lines  of  the  old,  a 
hollow  square  built  around  a  spacious  court.  This  first  great 
disaster  at  Carondelet  entailed  heavy  financial  burdens,  and  called 
for  a  renewal  in  practice  of  the  self-denying  and  generous  spirit 
of  the  pioneers.  It  gave  new  zest  to  the  desire  of  all  for  a  closer 
union  of  the  communities,  in  view  of  the  greater  strength  that 
would  result  therefrom. 

The  time  was  not  yet  ripe  for  this ;  and  in  the  meantime,  in 
the  summer  of  1858,  two  mission  bands,  the  first  sent  out  by 
Mother  Saint  John,  went  from  Carondelet,  one  to  Oswego,  the 
earliest  established  in  the  diocese  of  Albany;  the  other  to  Sainte 
Genevieve,  Missouri.  Father  St.  Cyr  was  pastor  in  Sainte  Gene¬ 
vieve,  situated  sixty  miles  below  Saint  Louis,  the  oldest  permanent 
settlement  in  Upper  Louisiana.  The  church  records  there  date 


PAPAL  APPROBATION 


115 

back  to  1760,  but  the  town  was  colonized  much  earlier,  some  say 
I735>  by  immigrants  from  Kaskaskia  and  other  French  villages 
of  western  Illinois.  Its  first  site,  a  low-lying  tract  along  the 
river,  was  abandoned  in  1785,  the  memorable  “year  of  the  great 
waters,”  when  an  overflow  of  the  Mississippi  drove  the  settlers 
to  higher  ground. 

Many  elements  mingled  in  the  population  of  Sainte  Genevieve, 
which  had  passed  successively  under  three  governments,  French, 
Spanish,  and  American.  Among  its  citizens  of  1858  were  Amer¬ 
icans  of  more  than  local  repute ;  but  it  still  retained  the  character 
and  spirit  of  its  original  inhabitants,  and  oldtime  French  courtesy 
and  customs  prevailed.  The  government  was  patriarchal ;  the 
church  lands — the  gift  of  the  French  monarchy — were  divided 
into  arpents  and  cultivated  in  common.  Simplicity  and  refine¬ 
ment  characterized  the  life  of  this  Catholic  settlement,  where 
traditions  lingered  of  the  early  Jesuit  missionaries,  of  Du  Bourg 
and  Flaget,  Rosati  and  De  Andreis;  and  where  an  industrious 
and  happy  people  had  early  interested  themselves  in  matters 
educational,  and  prided  themselves  on  being  fellow  citizens  of 
Audubon.  An  academy  for  boys  and  young  men  was  incor¬ 
porated  under  a  board  of  trustees  in  1808;  and  in  1837,  a  similar 
school  for  girls  was  commenced  by  the  Sisters  of  Loretto.  These 
were  withdrawn  before  1858,  and  Father  St.  Cyr  begged  of 
Mother  Saint  John  teachers  to  replace  them. 

In  response  to  this  request,  Sisters  Gonzaga  Grand,  Bridget 
Burke,  Theodora  McCormack,  Clemence  'Motschman,  Dorothea 
Rufine  and  Dosithea  Grand  left  Carondelet  August  28,  and 
reached  Sainte  Genevieve  by  boat  the  same  day.  From  the  land¬ 
ing  at  the  foot  of  the  village’s  main  street,  they  looked  upon  an 
attractive  rural  scene.  Grouped  about  the  old  stone  church  as 
a  center  were  the  low  white  houses  with  gabled  roofs,  broad 
verandas,  and  outside  chimneys  built  from  the  ground.  The 
gardens  were  bright  with  late  summer  flowers,  and  elm  and  pecan 
trees  shaded  the  graveled  roads.  Opposite  the  church,  in  a  cul¬ 
tivated  plot  of  several  acres,  was  the  convent,  a  large  frame 


n6  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 


building;  and  nearby  stood  the  quaint  dwelling  of  Felix  Valle, 
son  of  Don  Frangois  Valle,  last  Spanish  commandant  of 
Sainte  Genevieve.  Felix  Valle  and  his  estimable  wife  were- 
generous  benefactors  of  the  new  academy,  which,  under  the 
patronage  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  drew  boarders  from  the  sur¬ 
rounding  towns,  and  day  pupils  from  the  oldest  families  in  the 
state. 

The  Superior,  Sister  Gonzaga,  one  of  the  four  Sisters  who 
had  come  from  France  in  1854,  was  an  accomplished  woman  of 
striking  personality  and  dignified  bearing.  An  habitual  reserve 
gave  her  the  appearance  of  sternness;  but  in  reality  covered  a 
great  sweetness  and  gentleness  of  character,  as  well  as  a  delight¬ 
ful  sense  of  humor  that  relieved  of  awkwardness  many  an  other¬ 
wise  embarrassing  situation.  She  quickly  endeared  herself  to  the 
kindly  villagers,  and  pupils  and  parents  were  her  devoted  friends. 
Her  regime  was  short,  however;  she  returned  to  Carondelet  in 
i860,  though  not  before  the  academy  was  well  launched  on  its 
long  and  prosperous  career. 

It  was  early  in  that  year  that  Mother  Saint  John,  acting  on 
the  advice  of  Archbishop  Kenrick,  took  up  and  brought  to  a 
successful  issue  the  movement  for  general  government,  inaugu¬ 
rated  by  Mother  Celestine  in  1856,  but  twice  interrupted  by  events 
of  more  than  passing  moment  to  the  Sisters  in  Carondelet.  She 
invited  representatives  from  each  house  of  the  Congregation  to 
an  assembly  at  Carondelet  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the 
proposed  measure  for  general  government.  Delegates  came  as 
requested  from  each  diocese  in  which  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph 
were  established  except  Buffalo,  Philadelphia  and  Brooklyn. 
After  a  spiritual  retreat  of  three  days  in  which  all  the  Sisters 
joined,  they  were  formally  assembled  on  May  2,  by  Archbishop 
Kenrick,  who  submitted  his  plan  for  their  consideration.  This, 
as  previously  outlined  in  a  “memorandum”  prepared  for  dis¬ 
tribution  and  in  letters  to  Mother  Saint  John,  proposed  to  adopt 
the  form  of  government  “lately  agreed  on  by  the  Sisters  of  Saint 
Joseph  in  the  Diocese  of  Lyons,  with  such  modifications  as  may 


PAPAL  APPROBATION 


ii  7 

be  deemed  necessary  to  render  it  available  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada.”  1 

It  suggested  the  immediate  erection  of  three  provinces,  one  of 
St.  Louis,  comprising  all  the  houses  of  that  diocese  and  those  in 
the  West;  a  province  for  Canada,  another  for  the  Eastern  States, 
and  “the  future  erection  of  provinces  wherever  there  shall  be 
three  houses  of  the  community,  if  the  Superior-General  of  the 
Community  at  Carondelet  shall  approve  of  the  measure.”  2  The 
memorandum  then  explains  in  detail  the  manner  in  which  these 
provinces  are  to  be  erected  and  governed,  the  novitiates — one  in 
each  province — organized,  and  the  Superior-General  and  Pro¬ 
vincials  elected.  In  an  elaboration  of  his  plan  submitted  May  2, 
1862,  to  Reverend  Joseph  Melcher,3  his  Vicar-General  and 
spiritual  Father  at  that  time  of  the  Sisters  in  St.  Louis,  the 
Archbishop  noted  the  absence  of  delegates  from  Buffalo,  Phila¬ 
delphia  and  Brooklyn,  which,  he  wrote, 

may  be  taken  as  equivalent  to  a  refusal  to  accept  the  proposition 
made  to  them.4  Still  I  deem  it  very  likely  that  when  the  matter  is 
represented  to  them  as  forming  them  into  a  distinct  province,  they 
will  accede  to  the  measure.  Should  none  of  the  dioceses  outside 
that  of  St.  Louis  be  willing  to  adopt  these  regulations,  but  prefer  to 
remain  as  they  are,  then  I  would  advise  the  communities  in  the 
diocese  of  St.  Louis  to  organize  on  the  above  plan,  and  I  have  every 
confidence  that  sooner  or  later,  their  example  will  be  followed  by 
others. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  minor  modifications  made  by  the 
Sisters  and  agreed  to  by  the  Archbishop,  his  proposals  were  ac¬ 
cepted  practically  as  outlined,  by  the  Sisters  in  the  dioceses  of 
St.  Louis,  St.  Paul,  Natchez  and  Albany,  where  a  mission  had 

1  Letter  of  Apr.  30,  i860. 

2  Ibid.,  also  of  May  2,  i860. 

3  Later,  Bishop  of  Green  Bay. 

4  It  was  the  Bishops  in  these  diocese  who  intervened,  preferring  autonomy 
for  their  respective  communities.  The  Sisters  whose  Mother  House  is 
in  Philadelphia,  adopted  general  government  in  1890,  and  now  have  many 
flourishing  institutions  in  the  Archdioceses  of  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore. 


1 18  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

recently  been  established.5  On  the  afternoon  of  May  4,  an 
election  of  officers,  presided  over  by  Archbishop  Kenrick  and 
following  the  regulations  which  he  had  laid  down,  resulted  in 
the  choice  of  Mother  Saint  John  Facemaz  as  Superior-General 
for  a  term  of  six  years.  St.  Paul  was  made  the  center  of  a 
northern  province,  including  all  the  houses  of  the  Congregation 
in  Minnesota;  and  Troy,  New  York,  was  later  selected  as  the 
seat  of  an  eastern  province.  It  now  remained  to  secure  the 
approbation  of  the  Holy  See  for  the  Congregation  in  the  United 
States  under  its  new  form  of  Government. 

This  was  not  finally  accomplished  for  several  years,  but  the 
initial  step  towards  it  was  taken  by  Mother  Saint  John  during 
a  visit  which  she  made  to  Europe  for  this  purpose  after  her 
election.  Another  object  of  this  visit  was  to  secure  help  in  re¬ 
pairing  the  great  losses  sustained  by  the  Mother  House  in  the 
fire  of  1858.  Her  companion  for  the  voyage  was  Sister  Vic- 
torine,  who  had  come  from  France  in  1856,  and  after  four  years 
of  excellent  work  in  the  academy  as  teacher  and  organist,  now 
desired  to  return  to  her  native  land.  Two  other  members  of  the 
party  that  left  Carondelet  in  the  middle  of  July,  i860,  were 
Sister  Philomene  Billex  and  Sister  Flavia  Waldron.  These 
were  appointed  for  Cohoes,  New  York,  where  the  second  mission 
in  the  diocese  of  Albany  was  being  inaugurated.  The  four  Sis¬ 
ters  reached  Cohoes  July  17,  and  Mother  Saint  John  with  her 
companion  stayed  several  days  at  this  mission  before  resuming 
her  journey.  She  remained  abroad  until  the  following  spring, 
visiting  the  houses  of  the  Congregation  in  Europe.  While  in 
Moutiers,  where  she  spent  several  months,  she  received  a  com¬ 
munication  from  Archbishop  Kenrick,  who  desired  her  on  her 
arrival  in  Rome  to  present  to  Pope  Pius  a  personal  letter  which 

5  A  diocesan  community  was  inaugurated  in  Corsica,  Pennsylvania,  in  i860 
by  Mother  Agnes  Spencer,  who  had  been  in  the  Buffalo  diocese  since  1854. 
In  1897.  this  community  established  its  Mother  House  at  Erie,  Pennsylvania. 
From  Brooklyn,  diocesan  communities  were  introduced  into  the  Archdiocese 
of  Boston  in  1873,  and  into  the  dioceses  of  Springfield,  Massachusetts  in  1873, 
and  Burlington,  Vermont  in  1880. 


PAPAL  APPROBATION 


1 19 

he  enclosed,  “a  supplication  on  my  part,  that  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  may  deign  to  give  his  approbation  to  your  Holy  Rule.”  6 

Taking  with  her  Sister  M.  de  Chantal  Martin,  one  of  five 
young  sisters  who  were  to  accompany  her  to  Carondelet  on  her 
return,  Mother  Saint  John  left  by  way  of  Marseilles  for  Rome, 
where  she  was  welcomed  early  in  March  by  the  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph  at  their  convent  near  the  Colosseum.  From  Cardinal 
Bizzari,  later  one  of  the  officials  of  the  Vatican  Council,  she  re¬ 
ceived  many  favors  during  her  sojourn  in  Rome.  An  audience 
with  the  Holy  Father  was  arranged,  and  took  place  immediately 
after  Easter,  which  fell  on  March  31  that  year.  Both  Sisters 
were  deeply  moved  by  the  graciousness  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff, 
whose  first  inquiry  was  for  his  “good  children  in  America.”  7 
He  received  Mother  Saint  John’s  petition,  encouraged  her  to 
look  for  its  favorable  outcome,  and  ordered  an  examination  of 
the  Constitutions  by  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Bishops  and 
Regulars. 

As  a  result  of  this  investigation  and  of  commendatory  letters 
addressed  to  the  Holy  See  by  Bishop  McCloskey  of  Albany, 
afterwards  first  American  Cardinal,  Bishops  Duggan  of  Chicago, 
Grace  of  St.  Paul,  Juncker  of  Alton,  and  Archbishop  Kenrick, 
as  well  as  a  personal  letter  from  the  latter  to  His  Holiness,  the 
following  Decree  of  Commendation  was  issued : 

When  in  1836  the  Right  Reverend  Joseph  Rosati  governed  the 
Diocese  of  St.  Louis  in  the  United  States  of  North  America,  he 
invited  some  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  from  the  city  of  Lyons  (France) 
to  establish  themselves  there,  and  assigned  the  town  of  Carondelet, 
near  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  as  the  place  of  their  residence.  The 
number  of  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  in  that  region  has,  however,  so 
much  increased  as  at  present  to  be  found  in  several  dioceses  and  to 
have  many  houses.  The  house  which  the  Sisters  inhabited  in  the 
aforesaid  town  of  Carondelet  is  constituted  the  first  house  of  the 
Institute,  called  of  Carondelet.  The  Sisters  are  placed  under  the 
rule  of  a  Mother-General ;  after  two  years  of  noviceship  they  make 

6  Letter  of  Jan.  26,  1861. 

7  sister  m.  de  chantal.  Notes  of  Roman  Journey. 


120  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

simple  vows  of  perpetual  chastity,  poverty  and  obedience ;  and  be¬ 
sides  laboring  for  their  own  sanctification,  they  instruct  girls,  in 
a  special  manner,  in  Christian  piety,  and  also  employ  themselves  in 
Orphan  Asylums  and  Hospitals.  The  Superior-General,  who  at 
present  governs  the  aforesaid  Institute,  has  petitioned  our  Most 
Holy  Lord,  Pope  Pius  the  Ninth,  that  he  might  vouchsafe  to  approve 
of  the  Constitutions  of  that  Congregation,  for  which  purpose  also 
the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop  of  St.  Louis  and  other  Bishops  have 
united  their  suffrages.  In  an  audience  had  on  the  21st  of  August 
1863,  by  the  undersigned  Pro-Secretary  of  Bishops  and  Regulars, 
His  Holiness,  benignly  receiving  the  petition  of  the  aforesaid  Su¬ 
perior,  and  considering  the  letters  of  the  said  Prelates,  praised  and 
commended  in  strongest  terms,  the  said  Institute  called  St.  Joseph 
of  Carondelet  as  a  Congregation  of  simple  vows  under  the  rule  of 
a  Superior-General,  saving  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Ordinaries,  con¬ 
formably  to  the  prescriptions  of  the  Sacred  canons  and  Apostolic 
Constitutions ;  and  also  by  the  present  decree,  he  praises  and  com¬ 
mends  it,  the  approbation  of  the  Constitutions,  being,  however, 
deferred  to  a  more  fitting  time.  Given  at  Rome,  from  the  Secretariat 
of  the  aforesaid  Sacred  Congregations  of  Bishops  and  Regulars  on 
the  9th  day  of  September,  1863. 8 

This  Decree  was  signed  by  Cardinal  Quaglia,  Prefect  of  the 
Sacred  Congregation,  who  in  a  separate  letter  of  the  same  date 
quoted  the  custom  of  that  body,  which  required  that  the  Con¬ 
stitutions  be  reduced  to  practice  for  some  years,  and  be  then  re¬ 
submitted  under  the  same  conditions  as  before.  The  reception 
of  the  Decree  was  the  occasion  of  general  rejoicing  among  the 
Sisters.  The  prayers  that  had  been  offered  by  the  community 
for  this  end  were  continued  for  another  period  of  four  years. 
In  1867,  a  second  step  was  taken  toward  the  attainment  of  the 
desired  object.  For  seven  years,  since  i860,  general  government 
had  been  in  successful  operation,  and  had  proved  the  principle 
that  “union  makes  strength,  and  strength  means  an  increase  of 
efficiency  and  capacity  for  greater  good,  as  well  as  power  for 
overcoming  difficulties  and  opposition  in  the  various  trials  of 

8  Original  Latin  decree  in  Archives  at  the  Mother  House. 


PAPAL  APPROBATION 


121 


life.”  9  The  time  seemed  opportune  for  another  appeal  to  the 
Holy  See.  To  the  preceding  list  of  petitioners,  Bishops  Conroy 
of  Albany,  Feehan  of  Nashville,  Elder  of  Natchez,  Hennessey 
of  Dubuque,  and  Baraga  of  Marquette  added  their  names,  each 
sending  a  commendatory  letter. 

The  summer  of  1867  found  Mother  Saint  John  again  in  the 
Holy  City.  Her  companion  was  Sister  Julia  Littenecker.  They 
had  embarked  at  New  York  on  May  9,  after  a  brief  visitation 
of  the  Eastern  convents,  which  at  this  time  numbered  ten.  Their 
voyage  lasted  thirteen  days,  ten  of  which  were  spent  on  the 
Atlantic,  and  three  on  the  Mediterranean.  For  eight  weeks  they 
were  the  guests  in  Rome  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  at  their 
convent  near  the  Gesu.  Their  private  audience  with  the  Holy 
Father  occurred  on  Ascension  Day,  May  30.  A  week  later,  on 
June  7,  he  gave  his  approval  to  the  Congregation.  His  Eminence, 
Cardinal  Barnado  was  appointed  first  Cardinal  Protector,10  and 
the  following  Decree  was  issued : 

In  an  audience  given  on  the  7th  day  of  June,  1867,  to  the  Sec¬ 
retary  of  this  Sacred  Congregation  of  Bishops  and  Regulars,  His 
Holiness,  Pope  Pius  IX,  in  consideration  of  the  commendatory 
letters  of  the  Prelates  in  those  places  where  the  pious  association 
is  established,  and  of  the  abundant  fruits  which  the  same  has  yielded, 
approved  the  aforesaid  pious  Institute,  called  the  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph,  .  .  .  and  he  furthermore  confirmed,  by  way  of  trial  for 
ten  years,  the  preceding  constitutions,  written  in  the  French  language, 
for  the  therein-stated  pious  Institute,  such  as  they  are  found  in  this 
copy,  whereof  the  autograph  is  reserved  in  the  archives  of  the 
aforesaid  Sacred  Congregation ;  and  His  Holiness  does,  by  the 
authority  of  the  present  Decree,  approve  and  confirm  the  same. 

Given  at  Rome,  at  the  Secretariat  of  the  same  Sacred  Congrega¬ 
tion,  on  the  third  day  of  July,  1867. 

A.  Cardinal  Quaglia. 

Constitutions ,  p.  19.  St.  Louis,  1900. 

10  Others  who  have  borne  this  relation  to  the  Congregation  are  Cardinals 
Franchi,  Simeoni,  Satolli,  Falconio,  Martinelli,  and  the  present  Protector, 
Cardinal  Gasquet. 


122  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

The  Decree  of  Final  Approbation  was  given  by  the  Sacred 
Congregation  at  the  expiration  of  the  ten  years,  May  16,  1877. 
To  it,  Pope  Pius  IX,  of  glorious  memory,  added  a  special  Brief. 
In  this  Brief,  after  sanctioning  and  confirming  the  Constitutions, 

he  says : 

We  give  to  them  the  inviolable  strength  of  our  supreme 
power.  ...  We  further  decree  that  our  present  letter  is  and  shall 
be  firm,  valid  and  efficacious,  and  obtain  and  possess  its  full  and 
entire  effects,  and  most  fully  support  the  said  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph 
at  present  and  at  future  times,  and  thus  it  should  be  judged  and 
defined  in  the  premises  by  every  judge,  and  even  by  delegated 
auditors  of  causes  of  the  Apostolic  palace ;  and  that  it  is  invalid  and 
void  if  it  happens  that  anything  be  otherwise  attempted,  know¬ 
ingly  or  ignorantly  in  these  matters  by  any  one  in  virtue  of  any 
authority  whatever. 

Given  at  Rome,  at  St.  Peter’s,  under  the  Fisherman’s  Ring,  the 
31st  of  July,  1877,  the  32nd  year  of  our  Pontificate. 

Cardinal  Asquini. 

Two  other  Briefs  11  were  issued  by  the  Holy  Father  during 
May,  one  granting  the  privileged  altars  in  all  chapels  of  the 
Congregation ;  and  the  other,  numerous  indulgences  “to  the  Sis¬ 
ters  and  all  women  who  dwell  with  them”  under  the  usual  con¬ 
ditions. 

Many  interesting  incidents  were  connected  with  the  different 
visits  of  the  Sisters  to  Europe  in  pursuit  of  the  great  object  now 
so  happily  attained.  Events  of  unusual  importance  in  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  Church  were  taking  place  there  in  the  decade  preced¬ 
ing  the  Italian  occupation  of  Rome,  and  Mother  Saint  John  and 
her  companion  were  witnesses  of  more  than  one  inspiring  scene. 
They  renewed  old  friendships  in  France  and  Savoy,  and  made 
new  and  valuable  acquaintances  in  Rome.  Among  the  latter  was 
a  friend  of  the  Roman  communities  of  St.  Joseph,  the  March- 

11  Latin  originals  of  all  the  above  documents  in  Carondelet  Archives. 


PAPAL  APPROBATION 


123 


ioness  Ferrari,  an  Italian  noblewoman,  whose  brother,  Monsig¬ 
nor  Joseph  Ferrari,  was  Treasurer  of  the  Papal  States.  It  was 
through  the  influence  of  this  distinguished  prelate  that  Mother 
Saint  John  obtained  during  her  first  visit  the  body  of  the  child 
martyr,  St.  Aurelia.  This  was  taken  from  the  cemetery  of  St. 
Callixtus  in  the  Catacombs  during  the  pontificate  of  Pius  IX  and 
placed  in  his  private  chapel.  The  document  accompanying  it 
bears  the  date  April  8,  1861,  and  mentions  it  as  the  gift  of  that 
Pontiff  to  Mother  St.  John  for  the  chapel  at  the  Mother  House 
in  Carondelet.12 

The  year  1867  was  a  memorable  one  in  Rome.  Though  the 
Church  in  other  parts  of  Italy  had  been  deprived  of  its  indepen¬ 
dence,  and  revolutionary  bands  were  even  then  preparing  to  in¬ 
vade  the  Papal  dominions,  the  month  of  June,  in  which  was 
celebrated  the  eighteenth  centenary  of  the  martyrdom  of  Saints 
Peter  and  Paul,  was  devoted  to  religious  celebrations  of  such 
splendor  as  had  never  before  been  seen  even  in  the  City  of  the 
Popes.  On  the  invitation  of  Pius  IX,  bishops  and  prelates  had 
assembled  from  all  over  the  Christian  world  to  participate  in  the 
solemn  ceremonies.  These  began  on  the  feast  of  Corpus  Christi, 
June  20,  and  ended  with  the  beatification  on  July  7  of  more  than 
two  hundred  missionaries,  martyred  for  the  faith  in  Japan.  On 
the  centenary  itself,  June  28,  the  Holy  Father  celebrated  in  St. 
Peter’s  the  solemn  pontifical  Mass  following  the  canonization 
of  St.  Paul  of  the  Cross,  founder  of  the  Passionist  Order;  St. 
Leonard  of  Port  Maurice,  a  Franciscan  missionary;  Germaine 
Cousin,  shepherdess  of  Toulouse;  and  twenty-two  other  con¬ 
fessors  of  the  Faith.13  Sister  Julia  wrote  from  Rome: 

12  By  favor  of  the  Holy  See  granted  June  1,  1867,  the  feast  of  St.  Aurelia  is 
celebrated  annually  on  May  31  in  the  chapel  of  the  Mother  House  with  the 
Mass  of  Virgins  and  Martyrs. 

13  St.  Josephat  Kuncievicz,  Archbishop  of  Polotsk;  Pedro  de  Arbues  of 
Saragossa,  an  Augustinian  friar;  Maria  Francesca,  a  Tertiary  of  St.  Peter 
Alcantara ;  and  nineteen  martyrs  of  Gorcum,  in  Holland,  who  suffered  in  the 
persecutions  of  the  16th  century. 


124  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

The  feast  of  Corpus  Christi  was  magnificent.  The  crowd 
assembled  before  the  basilica  of  St.  Peter  was  so  great  that  the 
soldiers  had  difficulty  forming  a  passage  for  the  procession.  Seven¬ 
teen  different  communities  of  men,  seven  choirs  of  canons  belonging 
to  the  principal  basilicas  in  the  Holy  City,  the  students  of  several 
colleges,  over  three  hundred  Bishops,  the  Cardinals,  the  Senate  of 
the  city  of  Rome,  the  guard  of  Nobles  in  their  gala  unforms,  the 
Swiss  guards,  all  preceded  the  Holy  Father,  who  carried  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  and  was  himself  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  twelve 
palefreniers  under  a  beautiful  canopy.  Different  companies  of  sol¬ 
diers  went  before  and  after.  The  Swiss,  who  are  the  immediate 
body-guard  of  the  Pope,  were  arrayed  in  iron  armour,  with  their 
ancient  battle-axes  on  their  shoulders.  The  procession  at  the  cere¬ 
mony  of  canonization  was  something  similar  to  that  of  Corpus 
Christi.  .  .  .  His  Holiness  offered  up  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  on  the 
high  altar  erected  over  the  tomb  of  St.  Peter.  We  had  the  privilege 
of  occupying  a  little  gallery  opposite  the  altar,  and  were  thus 
vis-a-vis  to  the  Sovereign  Pontiff.  His  sweet  and  powerful  voice, 
while  he  was  singing  Mass,  was  reechoed  in  the  mighty  dome 
above.14 

Sister  Julia,  an  excellent  musician,  was  much  impressed  with 
the  choir — hundreds  of  voices  singing  in  three  divisions  to  rep¬ 
resent  the  church  militant,  suffering,  and  triumphant — which 
filled  the  vast  edifice  with  waves  of  wondrous  sound.  A  few  days 
before  their  departure  from  Rome,  the  Sisters  met  at  the  Gesu 
the  Provincial  of  the  St.  Louis  Province  of  Jesuits,  Father  Coose- 
mans,  who  was  much  pleased  to  learn  of  the  success  of  their 
mission,  and  who  made  them  acquainted  with  the  illustrious 
General  of  the  Society,  Very  Reverend  Peter  Beckx.  “He  gave 
us  his  blessing,”  writes  Sister  Julia,  “and  promised  us  a  share 
in  his  holy  prayers.  Just  as  we  stepped  out  of  the  Gesu  a  few 
minutes  later,  the  Holy  Father  passed  in  his  carriage.  We 
dropped  on  our  knees,  and  he  gave  us  his  benediction.”  Con¬ 
ditions  had  so  far  changed  before  their  return  to  the  Holy  City 
ten  years  later,  that,  although  the  faithful  were  celebrating  the 


14 Letter  dated  July  17,  1867. 


SISTER  JULIA  LITTENECKER 

1836-I9I3 


PAPAL  APPROBATION 


125 


golden  jubilee  of  the  episcopate  of  Pius  IX,  Mother  Agatha  could 
write  of  the  ceremonies  in  the  great  basilica  of  Rome : 

They  are  not  so  gloriously  grand  as  when  our  saintly  Pontiff 
made  his  appearance  in  public.  He  never  officiates  as  of  old  at 
St.  Peter’s.  We  attended  High  Mass  at  St.  John  Lateran’s  on 
Easter  Sunday.  All  the  ceremonies  of  Holy  Week  were  performed 
there,  and  we  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  placed  in  one  of  the 
balconies  over  the  choir  occupied  by  the  canons,  so  that  we  were 
almost  in  the  sanctuary.  All  was  to  me,  very  fine ;  but  Mother 
St.  John  says  it  was  not  what  used  to  be  witnessed  at  St.  Peter’s 
when  our  Holy  Father  pontificated.15 

When  Mother  Saint  John  and  Sister  Julia  left  Rome  on  July 
17,  1867,  they  repaired  to  Lyons,  where  a  delightful  week  passed 
quickly  among  the  Sisters  at  the  Mother  House.  After  a  short 
time  spent  in  Chambery,  they  went  to  Moutiers  and  joined  the 
community  in  their  annual  retreat  during  the  first  week  in 
October.  Their  itinerary  included  Strasburg,  Freiburg  and 
Offenburg,  and  from  Paris  a  brief  visit  was  made  to  Madame 
de  la  Rochejaquelin  at  her  home  in  Usse.  The  latter,  hearing 
of  the  presence  in  Europe  of  Sisters  from  Carondelet,  had  sent 
pressing  invitations,  begging  them  not  to  leave  for  America 
without  seeing  her.  In  her  long  and  interesting  letter,  she  re¬ 
viewed  the  history  of  her  connection  with  the  Sisters  of  Saint 
Joseph  and  their  foundation  in  St.  Louis.  From  St.  Aubin 
de  Beaubigne  she  wrote : 

I  had  no  doubt,  whatever,  but  that  God  would  shed  abundant 
blessings  on  the  small  beginning.  You  may  judge  how  I  desire 
to  see  you  and  to  hear  from  your  own  lips  all  the  details  of  your  in¬ 
teresting  missions,  and  especially  of  Carondelet. 

It  makes  me  very  sad  to  think  how  much  our  dear  pioneers 
suffered,  and  that  they  did  not  write  to  tell  me  of  their  privations. 
With  what  readiness  would  I  not  have  come  to  their  assistance ! 

I  would  like  much  to  know  if  your  Sisters  are  in  New  Orleans. 


15  Letter  dated  Apr.  20,  1877. 


126  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

I  knew  Monsignor  Odin  intimately.  I  knew  him  at  Rome,  and  saw 
him  again  at  Paris  when  he  was  Bishop  of  Galveston.  .  .  .  The  com¬ 
munity  at  Lyons  would  be  enraptured  to  see  you,  and  hear  you 
tell  of  the  prodigious  development  of  the  little  grain  of  mustard 
seed  sown  in  1836.  As  for  myself,  I  desire  passionately  to  see  you. 
You  will  surely  not  disappoint  me  by  refusing.  If  you  come,  you 
will  give  me  infinite  joy.  We  will  talk  about  all  your  establishments, 
and  I  will  mark  them  on  my  map  of  the  United  States.  I  knew 
Mother  St.  John  (Fontbonne)  at  Lyons,  the  admirable  Sister 
St.  John  of  Chambery,  and  now  the  good  God  wishes  that  I  should 
know  you,  so  that  you  may  teach  me  to  serve,  love  and  glorify  him.16 

The  visit  of  the  Sisters  gave  great  pleasure  to  this  distinguished 
lady,  who  renewed  her  benefactions  to  the  Congregation,  and  kept 
up  her  correspondence  with  Carondelet  for  many  years.17  A 
protege  of  hers,  Louise  Ouvrard  from  La  Vendee,  afterwards 
Sister  Felicia,  was  one  of  three  postulants  who  accompanied 
the  Superior-General  from  France.  Other  members  of  the  Con¬ 
gregation  who  came  to  America  at  the  same  time  included  Mother 
Saint  John’s  own  sister,  Sister  Irene,  who  had  spent  six  years 
on  the  Roman  missions,  and  her  niece,  Sister  Mary  Joseph. 

Leaving  Paris  on  October  24,  1867,  Mother  Saint  John  and 
her  companions  reached  Carondelet  before  the  middle  of  Novem¬ 
ber.  They  had  as  a  companion  of  their  sea  voyage  Bishop  Amat 
of  Los  Angeles,  who,  early  in  the  following  year,  begged  Mother 
Saint  John  to  send  some  Sisters  to  his  diocese.  To  her  great 
regret  she  was  obliged  to  refuse  this  request,  as  well  as  several 
others  made  at  the  same  time,18  the  reason  in  each  case  being 
the  same.  The  field  was  too  great  for  the  number  of  laborers; 

16  Letter  dated  July  19,  1867.  Her  title  at  this  time  was  Duchesse  de  la 
Rochejaquelin. 

17  Her  death  occurred  at  Usse  January  7,  1883.  Among  her  last  bequests 
was  one  to  her  “dear  Sisters  in  America,”  made  through  the  Director  of 
the  Seminary  for  Foreign  Missions  at  Paris,  with  the  request  that  prayers 
be  offered  for  her  soul.  Letter  of  a.  maury,  Paris,  Jan.  24,  1884. 

18  These  came  from  Father  Van  Queckelberge  of  Port  Gibson,  Mississippi; 
Father  Scully,  of  Cambridgeport,  Massachusetts;  and  Father  Daley,  of 
Sterling,  Illinois. 


PAPAL  APPROBATION 


127 


the  professed  members  were  barely  sufficient  for  the  work  in 
hand.  Far  from  being  a  matter  of  discouragement,  the  nu¬ 
merous  calls  from  distant  fields,  though  so  often  made  in  vain, 
gave  testimony  to  the  good  work  accomplished  everywhere,  and 
lent  weight  to  the  prediction  made  by  Father  Coosemans  to  the 
Sisters  in  Rome,  that  the  sanction  of  their  institute  by  the  Holy 
See  would  produce  innumerable  blessings. 

The  blessings  came  in  the  next  few  years  in  increased  numbers ; 
in  the  prestige  arising  from  efficiency;  in  greater  devotion — 
if  that  were  possible — shown  by  the  Sisters  to  the  holy  cause 
in  which  they  were  engaged.  The  Decree  of  the  Holy  See  was 
announced  in  an  assembly  of  Superiors  summoned  by  Mother 
Saint  John  to  the  Mother  House  shortly  after  her  return  from 
Rome.19  It  was  an  occasion  of  much  rejoicing,  and  of  many 
expressions  of  gratitude  to  the  Holy  Father.  The  name  of 
Pius  IX  has  since  been  held  in  special  veneration  by  the  com¬ 
munity  of  Carondelet,  who  welcomed  with  delight  his  choice  of 
their  patron  in  1870  as  Protector  of  the  universal  Church.  His 
afflictions  caused  them  profound  sorrow,  and  drew  forth  a  letter 
of  sympathy  signed  by  the  Superior-General  in  the  name  of  the 
entire  Congregation,  which  numbered  three  hundred  and  forty 
professed  members  and  one  hundred  novices,  in  three  provinces. 
To  this  letter  the  Holy  Father  made  reply  as  follows : 

To  His  Dear  Daughters  in  Christ,  Greeting  and  Apostolic  Bene¬ 
diction. 

Your  letters  of  the  12th  of  last  February  have  given  us  a  glorious 
testimony  of  your  faith  and  charity ;  they  have  made  known  to  us 
your  devotedness  and  respect  as  well  as  that  of  all  the  Sisters  in 
the  three  provinces  of  your  Congregation. 

We  cannot  entertain  the  least  doubt,  dear  Daughters  in  Christ, 

19  The  first  General  Chapter  was  convened  the  following  year,  1869.  Be¬ 
sides  the  Superior-General  and  Provincials  there  were  eleven  elected  mem¬ 
bers  present :  Sisters  Delphine  Bray,  Euphemia  Murray,  M.  Gabriel  Corbett,. 
Stanislaus  Saul,  Angela  Hanner,  Tatiana  Merrick,  Mary  Joseph  Kennedy, 
Melanie  Brew,  Seraphine  Ireland,  Teresa  Struckhof,  M.  Basil  Morris. 


128  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

that,  as  you  manifest  in  the  said  letters,  you  are  deeply  affected  at 
seeing  the  injuries  and  persecutions  to  which  the  Church  is  subjected. 
But  what  we  esteem  as  most  praiseworthy  is  that  in  order  to  make 
reparation  for  these  injuries,  animated  with  a  fervent  zeal,  you  have 
resolved  to  work  more  earnestly  for  your  sanctification,  and  to  fulfill 
with  more  fidelity  the  duties  of  your  vocation  and  institute. 

May  the  Almighty  confirm  in  you  these  good  resolutions  and 
protect  you ;  may  His  grace  be  with  you,  that  all  your  holy  intentions 
may  be  crowned  with  abundant  fruit.  But  that  the  hopes  which 
you  express  to  us  for  the  peace  and  tranquility  of  the  Church  may 
be  the  sooner  realized,  cease  not  fervently  to  implore  the  Divine 
clemency,  calling  on  the  intercession  of  Saint  Joseph,  the  most  power¬ 
ful  patron  of  the  Church,  under  whose  patronage  you  happily  and 
safely  rest. 

Finally,  may  the  Apostolic  benediction  which  we  cordially  give 
in  the  Lord,  to  you,  to  all  the  Sisters  of  your  Congregation,  as  well 
as  to  the  pupils  under  your  care,  be  the  pledge  of  our  special 
benevolence  and  the  source  of  all  Heavenly  graces. 

Given  at  Rome,  at  St.  Peter’s,  the  27th  day  of  March,  1872, 
the  26th  year  of  our  Pontificate. 

Pius  P.  P.  IX  20 

20  Original  in  Latin  in  Carondelet  Archives. 


CHAPTER  X 


THE  EXPANSION  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  UNDER  REVEREND 
MOTHER  SAINT  JOHN  FACEMAZ  (1860-1872) 

Reverend  Mother  Saint  John  Facemaz  served  two  terms 
as  Superior-General  of  the  Congregation,  being  elected  to  that 
position  a  second  time  in  1866.  When  she  laid  down  the  burden 
of  office  in  1872,  the  houses  under  her  jurisdiction  numbered 
thirty-seven.  These  were  located  in  Missouri,  Illinois,  Michigan, 
Florida,  Tennessee,  Arizona,  Minnesota  and  New  York.  The 
two  last  named  each  constituted  a  distinct  province  under 
the  immediate  direction  of  its  own  provincial  superior. 

In  her  own  province,  she  rarely  accepted  a  school  or  proposed 
institution  without  a  preliminary  visit  to  satisfy  herself  as  to  its 
desirability  or  its  needs;  and  she  kept  herself  in  close  personal 
touch  with  all  the  missions  established.  The  long  journeys  which 
this  necessitated  were  frequently  attended  with  difficulties  owing 
to  imperfect  modes  of  travel,  and  always  resulted  in  great  bodily 
fatigue ;  but  hers  was  not  the  nature  to  complain,  especially  when 
there  was  question  of  promoting  the  cause  of  charity  or  education. 
Neither  did  her  long  absences  from  home  cause  any  diminution 
of  her  zeal  for  the  common  welfare  of  the  Sisters  or  for  the 
training  of  the  young  religious  to  fit  them  for  their  future  work 
among  the  little  ones  of  Christ.  With  love  of  poverty  and  re¬ 
nunciation,  she  endeavored  to  instill  into  all  a  devoted  loyalty  to 
the  Holy  See.  This  was  the  key-note  of  her  conferences  to  the 
Sisters,  the  submission  due  on  their  part  as  daughters  of  the 
Church  to  its  least  decree.  Although  esteeming  herself  the  most 
unworthy,  she  could  give  a  good  account  of  her  own  stewardship 
as  Superior-General ;  and  in  the  management  of  her  Congregation, 
she  proved  herself  always  the  valiant  woman,  “who  hath  looked 

129 


1 3o  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

well  to  the  paths  of  her  house,  and  hath  not  eaten  her  bread 
idle.”  1 

In  1859,  she  made  arrangements  for  the  opening  of  St. 
Bridget’s  Orphan  Asylum  in  St.  Louis  to  which  the  orphan 
girls  were  removed  from  St.  Vincent’s.  St.  Bridget’s  parochial 
school,  commenced  the  following  year,  was  attended  by  Sisters 
residing  at  the  asylum.  On  her  return  from  abroad  in  May  1861, 
the  Civil  War  had  broken  out,  and  St.  Louis  was  under  martial 
law  with  General  Harney  in  command.  On  the  very  day  of  her 
arrival,  May  22,  his  proclamation  appeared,  calling  on  the  citizens 
to  resume  their  ordinary  business  pursuits,  interrupted  in  the 
general  disturbance  following  the  capture  on  May  10  of  Camp 
Jackson.2  Awaiting  her  in  Carondelet  was  Sister  Leonie  Mar¬ 
tin,  who  had  come  from  Sulphur  Springs  to  meet  her  sister, 
Sister  M.  de  Chantal,  one  of  the  five  accompanying  Mother  Saint 
John  from  France.  Sister  Leonie  represented  conditions  in 
Mississippi.  When  that  state  seceded  from  the  Union  in  Jan¬ 
uary,  1861,  there  was  no  delusion  in  the  South  as  to  the  long  dura¬ 
tion  of  the  coming  contest,  and  most  of  the  boarders  at  the 
convent  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Woods  had  returned  to  their  homes 
before  the  close  of  the  school  term.  One,  Louise  Du  Bernard, 
who  accompanied  Sister  Leonie,  remained  at  the  academy  in 
St.  Louis  until  the  close  of  the  struggle. 

In  vacation,  Mother  St.  John  recalled  the  remaining  Sisters 
from  Mississippi  for  an  indefinite  period.  They  bade  farewell 
to  their  southern  friends  and  neighbors,  and  said  a  last  prayer 
over  the  grass-grown  graves  of  Sister  Cecilia  Renot  and  Sister 
Scholastica  Vasques.  Sister  Scholastica  was  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  St.  Paul.  Her  health  failing  there,  she  was  sent  to  the  more 
genial  climate  of  Mississippi  in  the  vain  hope  that  her  life  might 
be  saved ;  but  she  had  soon  found  a  permanent  resting  place  under 
southern  skies.  Many  heart-rending  scenes  attended  the  de- 

1  Proverbs  XXXI,  27. 

2  This  was  located  in  the  open  country  on  what  is  now  the  block  between 

Laclede  and  Olive  Sts.  on  Grand  Ave. 


MOTHER  SAINT  JOHN  FACEMAZ  13 1 

parture  of  the  Sisters,  some  poor  negroes  even  clinging  to  them 
and  begging  to  be  taken  along. 

Owing  to  the  blockading  of  the  Mississippi  and  all  routes  of 
travel  southward,  the  Sisters  were  obliged  to  entrain  for  Louis¬ 
ville,  Kentucky,  where  alone  they  could  make  railroad  connections 
with  St.  Louis.  They  reached  Carondelet  August  5,  if  not 
secessionists  in  fact,  Southerners  in  sympathy,  for  they  had  not 
found  their  passage  through  the  Union  lines  pleasant.  “We 
were  looked  upon  and  treated  as  spies,”  wrote  Sister  Mary  Louis 
Lynch.  “When  we  arrived  at  the  dividing  line,  soldiers  in 
uniform  came  hurriedly  into  the  car,  opened  our  trunks  and 
baggage,  and  even  examined  our  lunch  basket.  They  took  a 
sealed  letter  which  Sister  had  written  to  her  home,  opened  and 
examined  it  carefully.”  The  letter  was  Sister  Emerentia  Bon- 
nefoy’s;  and  as  it  was  written  in  French,  it  was  passed  from  one 
official  to  another,  until,  to  the  writer’s  great  amusement,  it  was 
finally  returned  to  her,  evidently  undeciphered. 

The  Sisters  did  not  return  to  Mississippi.  Among  the  priests 
called  to  the  front  as  army  chaplains  was  their  pastor,  Father 
Guillon,  whose  death  occurred  at  Natchez  early  in  1863,  the 
result  of  hardship  and  exposure.  Letters  of  Bishop  Elder  to 
Mother  Saint  John  in  1863  and  1864  told  sadly  the  desolation 
of  Sulphur  Springs  and  other  parts  of  his  afflicted  diocese,  left 
without  priests,  business  prostrated  and  labor  stopped,  “the 
melancholy  consequences  of  war.”  3  Projected  missions  at 
other  southern  points  were  also  interfered  with  by  the  great 
struggle,  among  these,  Opelousas,  Louisiana,  where  Father 
G.  Raymond,  a  former  president  of  St.  Mary’s  College  in 
Baltimore,  with  only  two  assistants  had  under  his  charge  the 
immense  parishes  of  Opelousas  and  Calcassieu  numbering  from 
fifteen  to  eighteen  thousand  Catholics.4  He  had  erected  an  acad¬ 
emy  for  boys,  an  academy  and  day  school  for  girls,  and  had  in 

3  Letter  dated  Sept.  5,  1863. 

4  Father  Raymond  to  Archbishop  Kenrick,  Nov.  15,  i860.  Carondelet 
Archives. 


i32  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

view  an  institution  for  the  care  of  orphans.  On  the  advice  of 
Bishop  Odin,  he  had  applied  to  Mother  Saint  John  to  provide 
teachers  for  the  girls’  schools.  He  wrote  to  Archbishop  Kenrickh 

My  reasons  for  wishing  to  have  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  are,  from 
information  received,  ist.  Because  these  excellent  Sisters  are  very 
pious,  full  of  zeal,  animated  with  a  spirit  of  Christian  simplicity 
and  disinterestedness ;  2nd.  Because  their  rule  embraces  academies, 
free  schools  and  establishments  of  charity,  which  is  just  what  we 
want ;  3rd.  Because  the  terms  in  their  academies  are  moderate  which 
is  absolutely  necessary  in  our  case.5 

Pressing  as  was  the  need  of  workers  in  this  vast,  uncultivated 
field,  it  could  not  be  filled  under  wartime  conditions ;  and  Mother 
Saint  John  turned  her  attention  eastward,  where,  during  1861 
and  1862,  Troy,  Albany,  Syracuse,  Binghamton  and  Saratoga, 
all  in  the  diocese  of  Albany,  sought  and  obtained  communities 
from  Carondelet.  The  Sisters  here  were  called  in  1861  to 
mourn  the  death  of  Sister  Philomene  Vilaine,  second  of  the 
pioneers  of  1836  to  be  called  to  her  reward.  Ma  Soeur,  as  she 
was  affectionately  known  to  all,  was  a  great  favorite  in  the  Con¬ 
gregation,  which  she  edified  by  her  simplicity  and  guilelessness. 
She  was  one  of  the  band  sent  to  St.  Paul  in  1851,  had  begun  the 
school  at  St.  Anthony,  Minnesota  in  1854,  and  returned  in  i860 
to  the  Mother  House  at  Carondelet,  where  her  “life  of  daily 
dying  to  nature  was  crowned  with  a  death  precious  in  the  sight 
of  God.”  6  “I  have  never  done  any  good,”  she  was  accustomed 
to  say  in  her  humility;  while  those  about  her,  who  could  not  but 
witness  her  continual  acts  of  self-denial,  looked  on  her  virtue 
as  heroic.  She  was  always  deeply  moved  by  the  sufferings  of 
others;  and  it  seemed  a  special  kindness  on  the  part  of  the 
Master  whom  she  had  served  so  well,  when  He  called  her  to 
Himself  so  early  in  the  struggle,  the  sounds  of  which  at  least 
must  have  reached  her  ears  had  she  lived. 

5  Ibid . 

6  Necrology  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  1861. 


MOTHER  SAINT  JOHN  FACEMAZ  133 

The  attendance  at  the  academy  was  not  appreciably  lessened 
in  the  fall  of  1861,  though  a  few  pupils  whose  homes  were  in  the 
South  were  unable  to  return.  A  design  on  the  part  of  the 
military  authorities  to  secure  the  convent  building  for  war  pur¬ 
poses  was  checked  by  the  timely  interference  of  friends,  and 
studies  and  other  community  activities  went  on  as  usual.  Both 
Sisters  and  students  found  an  outlet  for  their  charity  while 
battle  raged  in  the  Southland  and  the  wounded  were  brought 
into  St.  Louis,  in  plying  their  needles  for  the  various  aid  societies, 
and  in  doling  out  food  to  poor  families  whose  bread  winners 
were  at  the  front.  The  number  of  these  families  amounted  at 
times  to  forty  who  daily  received  assistance  at  the  convent.  A 
public  spirited  citizen  of  Carondelet,  the  Honorable  Henry  T. 
Blow,  a  former  United  States  Minister  to  Brazil,  expressed  his 
own  appreciation  of  these  services  by  a  gift  to  the  convent  of  a 
valuable  painting,  an  original  of  Paul  Veronese,  “The  Sacrifice 
of  Abraham.”  He  had  brought  the  painting  from  Spain,  and 
considered  it,  he  said,  a  most  appropriate  gift  for  religious,  who, 
like  Isaac,  had  offered  their  lives  on  the  altar  of  obedience.  The 
presentation  was  made  in  eloquent  words  by  Judge  Wilson 
Primm,7  whose  daughter  Jacqueline  was  a  former  pupil  at  the 
academy. 

Until  1863,  the  academy  was  under  the  direction  of  Sister 
Tecla  Johnston,  a  native  of  Devonshire,  England,  an  accom¬ 
plished  and  capable  woman,  loved  by  Sisters  and  pupils.  Her 
special  talent  showed  itself  in  literary  composition;  and  some 
good  productions  came  from  her  pen  in  the  form  of  religious 
plays  for  girls,  which  were  enacted  by  the  students  at  the  annual 
commencements.  Her  inclination  for  a  contemplative  life,  how¬ 
ever,  led  her  to  sever  her  connection  with  the  Congregation  and 
return  to  England,  where  she  entered  a  cloister.  She  was  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  Sister  Winifred  Sullivan. 

Sister  Winifred  was  young,  but  she  had  the  cultured  mind 

7  Early  historian  of  St.  Louis,  and  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Missouri 
Historical  Society. 


134  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

of  mature  years.  Born  in  Ireland,  she  was  a  convert  to  the 
Church,  and  was  educated  by  the  Ursulines  of  St.  Martin’s, 
Brown  County,  Ohio.  Her  whole  life  was  an  act  of  gratitude' 
for  the  gift  of  faith,  and  a  radiation  of  the  joyousness  of  living 
for  God.  A  close  and  enthusiastic  student  of  history,  she  be¬ 
came  a  teacher  par  excellence  of  that  branch  of  knowledge ;  and 
in  summer  institutes  with  the  Sisters  as  well  as  in  the  class  room 
among  her  pupils,  she  never  failed  to  rouse  a  deep  interest  in  her 
chosen  subject.  Her  bright  and  cheerful  disposition,  ready  wit 
and  fund  of  amusing  and  edifying  anecdotes  enlivened  many  an 
otherwise  gloomy  hour  for  her  youthful  charges;  and  her  sym¬ 
pathy  was  never  exhausted  by  the  many  calls  made  upon  it  during 
the  trying  period  of  the  war. 

In  return  she  had  the  love  and  confidence  of  her  pupils, 
patriots  all  of  them  so  far  as  appearances  went,  in  the  neat 
uniform  of  marine  blue,  with  collar,  cuffs,  and  apron  of  dainty 
white,  and  smart  blue  sun-bonnet  for  out-of-doors.  There  was 
many  a  youthful  heart  among  them,  however,  that  loved  the 
gray  and  beat  in  sympathy  with  the  cause  which  it  represented, 
and  with  the  sentiment  that  prompted  some  of  the  convent’s 
nearest  neighbors  to  darken  their  windows  when  the  military 
authorities  of  the  city  ordered  illuminations  to  celebrate  a  Union 
victory.  There  were  boarders  from  the  South  ready  to  applaud 
the  day  scholars  from  the  village  who  made  detours  on  their 
way  to  school  in  order  to  avoid  the  streets  on  which  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  were  floating,  or  who  stepped  aside  so  as  not  to  pass 
within  the  shadow  of  the  flag. 

Sister  Winifred’s  position  was  a  delicate  one,  but  she  was 
tactful — the  nun  without  a  nation,  to  whom  neutrality  was  not 
alone  “the  better  part  of  valor”  but  a  Christian  duty.  Difference 
of  opinion  and  of  interests  there  might  be  among  her  pupils, 
but  there  was  no  disunion;  and  all  admired  the  courage  of 
Margaret  Picot,  sprightiy  convent  girl,  who  in  the  absence  of  her 
father,  received  a  delegation  of  Federal  officers.  They  came 
with  the  view  of  taking  the  “castle”  as  a  base  of  operations 


135 


MOTHER  SAINT  JOHN  FACEMAZ 

against  a  possible  attack  on  St.  Louis  from  the  South.  She 
showed  them  all  parts  of  the  house,  not  omitting  the  square 
central  tower  with  its  tempting  outlook  down  the  Mississippi ;  and 
before  dismissing  them,  sang  for  their  entertainment  to  her  own 
accompaniment  and  with  the  spirit  of  her  Virginian  ancestors 
all  the  Confederate  songs  in  vogue. 

The  officers  did  not  return,  and  the  castle  and  its  environment 
were  left  undisturbed  with  the  exception  of  a  stray  member  of 
General  Sigel’s  command — encamped  south  of  the  convent,  near 
the  River  Des  Peres — who  came  now  and  then  in  the  disguise 
of  a  wounded  man  seeking  help.  The  tragedy  of  Picot’s  Hill 
occurred  as  an  aftermath  of  the  struggle  that  had  pitted  brother 
against  brother,  and  called  the  best  of  friends  and  neighbors  to 
opposing  sides.  An  ordinance  of  the  city  council  in  the  late 
sixties  decreed  the  grading  of  new  streets  in  Carondelet  to  furnish 
work  for  the  unemployed.  Some  of  these  streets  were  run 
through  the  hill  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  a  gap  thirty  feet  or 
more  between  the  academy  and  Picot’s  Castle,  and  left  the  latter 
isolated  on  the  steep  bluff,  the  perpendicular  sides  of  which  were 
very  close  to  the  buildings.  The  convent  property  was  de¬ 
preciated  in  value ;  while  the  terracing  of  the  east  front  and  the 
erection  of  retaining  walls  on  the  north  and  east  made  a  heavy 
drain  on  the  home  funds.  Unable  to  make  like  improvements  on 
his  estate,  Louis  Picot  was  obliged  to  part  with  it.  The  buildings 
were  torn  down  and  the  hill  sold  to  the  Iron  Mountain  Railway 
Company,  who  leveled  it,  using  the  earth  to  fill  in  some  swampy 
places  along  the  river  for  their  tracks.  The  stretch  of  leveled 
ground  lay  idle  many  years  and  was  finally  bought  by  the  Acad¬ 
emy  Corporation. 

The  sounds  of  war  had  hardly  died  away,  when  on  December  8, 
1865,  Archbishop  Kenrick  presided  at  the  first  ceremony  of  reli¬ 
gious  profession  in  the  new  St.  Joseph’s  chapel.  The  completion 
of  this  chapel  marked  the  final  stage  in  the  erection  of  the  building 
after  the  fire  of  1858.  Rigid  economy  on  the  part  of  the  com¬ 
munity  helped  towards  the  realization  of  this  end.  To  the  funds 


136  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

collected  by  Mother  Saint  John  in  Europe,  the  Association  for 
the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,  interested  in  the  works  of  the 
Congregation  through  the  representations  of  Archbishop  Ken- 
rick,8  made  liberal  donations  between  1864  and  1866;  and  in 
William  Hunt,  St.  Louis  furnished  a  generous  benefactor. 
Among  the  pupils  of  the  academy  were  several  for  whose  ex¬ 
penses  the  Archbishop  made  himself  personally  responsible,  thus 
evidencing  practically  his  interest  in  community  affairs.  In 
1861,  the  deaf-mutes  were  removed  to  new  quarters  in  St.  Louis; 
and  with  additional  room  and  facilities  in  Carondelet,  Saint 
Joseph’s  continued  its  prosperous  career  under  Sister  Seraphine 
Ireland,  Sister  Teresa  Hagar  and  Sister  Herman  Joseph  O’Cor- 
man,  who  were  successively  directresses  until  1873. 

A  notable  figure  in  the  community  activities  of  this  early 
period  was  Ellen  Fitzpatrick,  or  as  she  was  always  known  among 
the  Sisters,  Miss  Ellen.  She  was-  a  native  of  Dublin  and  received 
abroad  a  thorough  musical  education.  In  1851,  she  became  an 
inmate  of  the  convent.  A  physical  impediment  in  the  form 
of  a  very  noticeable  lameness  prevented  her  receiving  the  religious 
habit  or  becoming  a  professed  member  of  the  Congregation ; 
but  she  was  happy  to  devote  her  life  to  it  as  an  affiliated  member 
and  to  give  it  the  benefit  of  her  talents.  For  over  a  quarter  of 
a  century,  she  served  in  the  capacity  of  music  teacher  to  the 
novices;  and  her  declining  years  until  her  death  in  1900,  she 
spent  in  almost  incessant  prayer.  She  was  a  woman  of  strong 
character  and  deep  piety,  and  trained  her  pupils  well.  Some  of 
these  ranked  later  among  the  most  successful  teachers  of  music 
in  the  Congregation ;  and  were  always  grateful  to  their  early 
instructor,  who  did  not  hesitate  on  occasion  to  use  her  slender 
black  pointer  on  fingers  that  were  too  nimble  for  accuracy  or 
too  stiff  for  artistic  execution. 

Outside  Carondelet,  Mother  Saint  John’s  active  spirit  was 
busy  all  during  the  war  period  making  new  foundations,  most 

8  Letter  of  Berard  des  Glajeux,  President  of  the  Central  Council  at  Paris 
(1847-1565)  to  Archbishop  Kenrick,  December  20,  1864.  Carondelet  Archives. 


MOTHER  SAINT  JOHN  FACEMAZ  137 

of  them  lasting  and  all  with  interesting  histories.  Ste.  Marie, 
in  the  diocese  of  Alton,  Illinois,  presented  the  novel  situation  in 
1862  of  employing  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  in  the  public  school. 
Sister  Julia  Littenecker  was  the  zealous  and  edifying  Superior 
at  the  convent  there ;  and  though  the  Sisters  have  long  since  been 
withdrawn,  the  memory  of  her  beautiful  and  prayerful  life  still 
lingers,  a  holy  tradition  handed  down  by  her  former  pupils  to 
their  children  and  grandchildren.  Ste.  Marie  was  soon  repre¬ 
sented  in  the  Congregation  by  five  young  girls  who  consecrated 
their  lives  to  religion  between  1862  and  1869.  Of  these  Sister 
Severine  Miller  survives.  The  others  passed  to  their  reward, 
Sister  Berchmans  Hartrich,  who  died  on  the  mission  in  Arizona, 
being  the  first  of  the  band  to  lay  down  her  young  life  of  great 
sacrifice  and  rare  virtues. 

At  the  request  of  Bishop  Duggan  of  Chicago,  the  Sisters  of 
St.  Joseph  went  in  April  1863  to  Peoria,  Illinois,  then  in  his 
diocese.  They  were  accompanied  there  by  Father  Abram  J. 
Ryan,  paster  of  St.  Mary’s,  who  had  come  to  Carondelet  for  that 
purpose.  In  tribute  to  the  first  community,  which  numbered 
seven,  the  poet-priest  wrote  his  poem  Memento ,  better  known 
by  its  opening  lines, 

Ye  are  seven 
Brides  of  Heaven, 

Jesus  claims  you  as  His  own. 

Love  Him  ever 
Leave  Him  never 
Till  He  leads  you  to  His  throne. 

In  a  two  room  frame  building,  the  Sisters  began  the  first 
parochial  school  in  Peoria,  St.  Mary’s ;  and  soon  secured  a  site 
for  an  academy,  also  the  first  in  that  city.  This  was  incorporated 
under  the  name  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  and  was 
liberally  patronized  by  Catholics  and  non-Catholics  alike.  After 
the  erection  of  the  see  of  Peoria  in  1877,  both  schools  enjoyed 
the  patronage  and  the  active  interest  of  the  illustrious*  Bishop 


138  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Spalding,  and  the  academy  rose  into  the  prominence  which  it 
has  since  maintained  as  a  leading  institution  of  the  diocese. 
Sisters  William  McDonald,  Marcella  Manifold,  Celestine  Ryan 
and  Ursula  Dunn  were  among  the  early  teachers  who  lent  prestige 
to  Our  Lady  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  under  the  able  direction  for 
many  years  of  Sister  Mechtilda  Littenecker.  The  first  in  the 
long  line  of  academy  girls  who  gave  themselves  to  God  as< 
“brides  of  Heaven”  was  Susan  Crowley,  Sister  Teresa  Louise. 
Even  as  a  school  girl,  Sister  Teresa  gave  promise  of  the  talent 
which  she  later  developed  as  a  prolific  writer  of  good  prose,  and 
of  the  exquisite  verse  with  which  she  often  delighted  community 
audiences.9  A  little  lyric,  “Just  One  Moment,”  found  among 
her  papers  after  her  death,  was  written  in  her  last  illness,  during 
the  whole  course  of  which  she  suffered  excruciating  pain.  As 
a  prayer  for  light,  the  last  aspiration  of  a  dying  religious  it 
deserves  reproduction: 

When  our  Savior  asked  the  blind  man, 

What  his  heart’s  request  might  be, 

Eagerly  he  made  the  answer, 

O  Lord,  grant  that  I  may  see. 

In  the  Sacramental  Presence 

Were  I  asked,  my  heart  would  say, 

Give  my  soul  one  lucid  moment, 

Ere  I  pass  from  earth  away. 

Show  me  then  my  life’s  transgressions, 

And  the  marks  those  sins  have  made; 

In  Thy  Precious  Blood  then  cleanse  me, 

Let  Thy  mercy  be  my  aid. 

Just  one  moan  of  true  contrition, 

Just  one  act  of  perfect  love, 

0  The  chorus  sung  by  five  thousand  school  children  in  the  St.  Louis  Colos¬ 
seum  on  the  golden  jubilee  celebration  of  Archbishop  Kenrick  in  1891  was 
her  composition.  She  prepared  for  publication  in  1886  the  Catholic  Child's 
Letter  Writer,  which  for  many  years  furnished  models  of  epistolary  corre¬ 
spondence  to  pupils  in  the  grade  schools  taught  by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph. 


MOTHER  SAINT  JOHN  FACEMAZ  139 

Just  to  ask  the  Church  triumphant 
Aid  me  in  its  courts  above. 

Once  to  call  on  Jesus,  Mary, 

And  Saint  Joseph ;  oh,  I  pray 

Grant  my  soul  this  precious  moment, 

Ere  it  pass  from  earth  away. 

In  July  1864,  Mother  Saint  John  sent  a  community  from 
Carondelet  to  begin  the  first  parochial  school  in  Bloomington, 
Illinois.  “The  place  is  pretty,  and  everything  promises  well  for 
the  future  of  religion,”  wrote  on  April  1,  1864,  Bishop  Duggan, 
at  whose  request  the  Sisters  were  sent.  On  his  insistent  de¬ 
mands,  also,  another  band  took  charge  in  September  of  the 
orphan  asylum  in  Chicago.  Sister  Benedict  Butler  was  made 
Superior  of  this  house,  and  with  her  community,  consisting  of 
Sisters  Delphine  Bray,  Praxedes  Gearon,  Aloysius  Fitzsimmons, 
and  Marcelline  O’Reilly,  left  St.  Louis  on  the  evening  of  Sep¬ 
tember  24,  crossing  the  Mississippi  by  ferry  to  entrain  on  the 
Illinois  side  for  Chicago.  They  were  hardly  three  hours  out 
from  St.  Louis,  when  they  met  with  one  of  those  striking  ex¬ 
periences  ordinarily  called  chance,  but  recognized  by  them  as  an 
intervention  of  Providence.  A  sudden  jolt  brought  the  coach 
to  a  standstill,  and  the  brief  prayer  for  safety  uttered  aloud  by 
Sister  Delphine  was  echoed  by  her  alarmed  companions.  Inves¬ 
tigation  showed  the  serious  nature  of  their  position.  The  spread¬ 
ing  of  rails  on  a  soft  embankment  had  caused  the  overturning 
of  the  engine  and  all  the  forward  coaches,  leaving  that  in  which 
the  Sisters  and  a  few  other  passengers  were,  tilted  at  a  steep 
angle  but  detached  from  the  remainder  of  the  wreck.  Into  this 
one  coach  the  wounded  were  brought  until  nurses  and  doctors 
arrived  from  Lincoln,  the  nearest  Illinois  town.  A  delay  of  ten 
hours  ensued,  and  the  Sisters  reached  Chicago  on  a  relief  train 
the  following  day. 

The  asylum  of  which  they  took  possession  was  a  poor,  plain 
building  on  Wabash  Avenue;  but  two  years  later,  in  1866,  the 


140  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Bishop  turned  over  to  the  Sisters  and  their  one  hundred  and 
fifty  orphan  boys  and  girls  the  splendid  building  newly  com¬ 
pleted  for  the  University  of  St.  Mary  of  the  Lake.  This  was 
ideal  for  the  purpose,  with  a  lake  frontage  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty  four  feet,  and  surrounded  by  extensive  grounds  and 
meadow  land.  The  asylum  was  in  charge  at  this  time  of  Sister 
Mary  Joseph  Kennedy,  “good  Mother  Joseph,”  as  she  was  known 
in  Chicago  for  twenty  years.  Her  magnanimity  and  indomi¬ 
table  courage  were  put  to  the  test  during  the  fire  of  October  9, 
1871,  which  left  the  beautiful  edifice  a  smoking  ruin,  and  sent 
her  with  her  community  of  eighteen  Sisters  and  their  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  eighty  charges  wandering  through  the  streets  of  Chi¬ 
cago  to  a  place  of  security  outside  the  limits  of  the  doomed  city. 

When  the  danger  became  apparent  to  the  Sisters  on  that  fateful 
night,  the  children  were  roused  from  their  dreams  and  dressed 
with  difficulty,  as  the  little  ones,  with  sleepy  eyes,  curled  them¬ 
selves  up  in  corners  or  crawled  back  into  their  tiny  beds  for 
another  nap.  They  were  finally  assembled  on  the  first  floor  near 
the  chapel,  from  which  the  Blessed  Sacrament  had  previously 
been  removed. 

At  one  o’clock,  a.  m.,  [runs  Sister  Mary  Incarnation’s  account  of 
the  fire]  the  waterworks  behind  our  property  took  fire,  and  even  in 
our  barnyard,  three  loads  of  hay,  brought  in  the  previous  afternoon, 
were  ablaze.  It  was  time  for  us  to  leave.  Each  Sister  took  in  her 
arms  two  infants.  The  larger  boys  and  girls  took  charge  of  the 
smaller  ones,  and  we  formed  a  close  line  of  march,  after  receiving 
from  Mother  Mary  Joseph  strict  orders  to  hold  on  to  one  another. 
With  Mother  in  the  lead,  we  started  northward  not  knowing  where 
we  were  going.  Mad  rushing  of  people,  some  jumping  through 
windows  to  save  their  lives,  the  hurrying  of  horses  and  vehicles, 
made  it  almost  impossible  to  keep  together.  The  greatest  difficulty 
was  at  the  street  crossings. 

One  incident  of  many  is  worth  relating.  A  team  of  horses  was 
rushing  towards  us  on  the  right,  and  one  on  the  left.  As  there  was 
danger  of  breaking  our  group,  and  therefore  of  losing  some  of  the 


MOTHER  SAINT  JOHN  FACEMAZ  141 

children,  Mother  called  to  both  drivers  to  halt  in  God’s  name.  One 
did  so,  but  the  other,  roused  by  the  danger,  tried  to  go  on.  Mother 
stepped  up  and  took  the  horses  by  the  bridle,  while  he  continued 
to  beat  them.  Passersby,  seeing  the  situation,  tore  the  driver  from 
the  seat,  and  gave  him  what  he  richly  deserved.  While  this  was 
going  on,  we  seized  our  opportunity  and  got  across.  Imagine  us 
trying  to  make  our  way  with  burning  buildings  on  each  side  of  us ; 
and  plank  walks  burning  at  intervals  underneath.  The  flames 
crawled  around  the  buildings  like  serpents. 

After  traveling  in  this  way  until  four  o’clock  in  the  morning,  we 
found  ourselves  outside  the  city  limits  on  a  prairie.  Sheer  exhaus¬ 
tion  compelled  us  to  rest.  The  sun  rose  that  morning  like  a  ball  of 
fire.  The  ground  was  warm,  but  the  children  fell  asleep  as  soon  as 
they  could  find  a  place  to  lay  their  heads.  Between  eight  and  nine  in 
the  morning,  we  saw  two  horsemen  coming  towards  us.  As  they 
approached,  we  recognized  two  of  the  Jesuits,  Father  O’Neill  and 
Father  Van  Eyck.  They  were  searching  for  the  orphans.  Imagine 
their  joy  and  ours.  They  requested  us  to  go  no  farther,  while  they 
would  return  and  send  two  Fathers  with  a  conveyance.  At  four 
o’clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  Fathers  came  bringing  several  spring 
wagons  and  such  other  vehicles  as  they  could  procure,  and  all  were 
taken  to  the  College  on  Twelfth  and  May  Streets.  On  our  arrival, 
about  eleven  o’clock  that  night,  we  were  welcomed  most  heartily  by 
the  Fathers  and  students,  who  had  labored  all  day  changing  the 
class  rooms  into  living  apartments  for  the  children.10 

For  two  weeks  they  remained  at  the  Jesuit  college,  while  a  two 
story  frame  school  building  near  by  was  fitted  up  for  a  tem¬ 
porary  home.  Eighty  of  the  smaller  children  were  kept  here 
by  the  Sisters,  and  offers  of  aid  were  accepted  from  orphan 
asylums  in  St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati,  to  each  of  which  one  hun¬ 
dred  children  were  sent.  In  May,  the  building  formerly  occupied 
by  veteran  soldiers  on  Thirty-fifth  and  Lake  Streets  was  secured, 
and  the  scattered  children  brought  together  again  under  Sister 

10  sister  m.  incarnation  mcdonough’s  account  of  Chicago  fire,  in  Caron- 
delet  Archives. 


142  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Mary  Joseph’s  care  in  what  was  henceforth  known  as  St.  Joseph’s 
Orphan  Asylum.11 

Of  the  Sisters  residing  in  the  orphanage  at  the  time  of  the 
fire,  Sisters  Mary  Louis  Lynch,  Gertrude  Conway,  Pancratia 
Leddy  and  Laurentia  Tracy  were  the  teachers  of  St,  Stephen’s 
School,  which  had  been  commenced  the  preceding  September. 
This  was  in  one  of  the  few  parishes  that  lay  -outside  the  path 
of  the  great  conflagration.  A  comfortable  cottage  was  now 
obtained  there  for  the  Sisters,  and  the  school,  already  well  filled, 
was  crowded  with  new  comers  from  other  parts  of  the  city.  This 
was  the  seventh  mission  of  the  Congregation  in  Illinois,  two 
others  having  been  established  at  Waterloo  in  1866  and  Brussels 
in  1869.  Five  young  girls  entered  the  novitiate  at  Carondelet 
during  the  summer  of  1867,  all  pupils  of  the  academy  at  Water¬ 
loo,  where  the  co-operation  of  zealous  pastors  kept  the  school 
abreast  of  the  times.  Its  competition  with  the  public  schools  in 
the  county  examinations  in  recent  years  resulted  in  many  notable 
triumphs  for  its  pupils. 

In  October  1865,  Sister  Gabriel  Corbet  opened  St.  Aloysius’ 
Academy  in  Hannibal,  Missouri;  and  in  September  1866,  Sister 
Francis  Joseph  Ivory  headed  the  pioneer  band  of  five  Sisters  that 
left  St.  Louis  for  Kansas  City,  Missouri.  The  Reverend  Ber¬ 
nard  Donnelly,  at  whose  request  these  were  sent,  had  great  hopes 
for  the  future  of  the  growing  city,  to  which  the  Pacific  railway 
companies  had  recently  extended  their  lines.  He  wrote  with 
enthusiasm  of  the  prospects  of  his  congregation,  which  had  more 
than  doubled  in  the  short  space  of  six  months.12  Protestants  as 
well  as  Catholics  had  urged  the  erection  of  a  convent  school; 13 
and  a  substantial  three-story  brick  building  with  wide  corridors 
and  large,  airy  rooms  went  up  on  a  portion  of  the  ten-acre  plot 
secured  in  1835  by  Father  Benedict  Roux,  first  resident  pastor 
of  Kansas  City. 

11  Site  of  the  present  institution  known  as  “The  Home  of  the  Friend¬ 
less.” 

12  Letter  of  Father  Donnelly  to  Mother  Saint  John,  Dec.  5>  1865. 

13  Ibid. 


143 


MOTHER  SAINT  JOHN  FACEMAZ 

This  tract  occupied  a  wooded  bluff  overlooking  the  junction 
of  the  Kansas  and  Missouri  rivers  and  the  bottom  lands  on  which 
were  the  warehouses  and  the  scattered  homes  of  the  dozen  or 
more  French  and  Indian  families  that  made  up  the  settlement 
then  known  as  Westport  Landing.  West  of  the  convent  were 
still  standing  the  log  church  built  at  that  time,  and  the  rectory, 
also  of  logs,  in  which,  according  to  a  well  authenticated  tradition, 
the  first  school  was  taught  by  Daniel  Morgan  Boone,  son  of  the 
picturesque  frontiersman  of  that  name. 

When  the  Sisters  arrived  at  their  new  home  on  August  28, 
they  “took  possession  of  the  walls,  as  the  house  was  not  yet 
furnished”;14  but  a  fair  given  a  few  weeks  after  their  arrival 
by  the  parishioners  provided  for  the  most  necessary  equipment. 
One  hundred  and  fifty  pupils,  girls  and  small  boys,  were  regis¬ 
tered  in  September;  and  the  convent  was  solemnly  blessed  by 
Archbishop  Kenrick.  Though  begun  under  the  patronage  of  St. 
Joseph,  it  was  incorporated  in  1867  as  St.  Teresa’s  Academy. 
In  the  seventies,  it  was  widely  known  as  a  popular  boarding  and 
day  academy  for  girls,  the  boys  having  their  own  separate  school. 
The  opening  of  the  West  by  the  railroads  brought  traders  in 
large  numbers  through  Kansas  City,  and  these  found  the  convent 
a  convenient  educational  institution  for  their  daughters.  Board¬ 
ers  came  from  points  as  far  distant  as  Mexico;  and  Spanish 
names  occur  beside  French,  Irish,  German  and  American  in  the 
early  lists  of  pupils.  A  distinguished  guest  at  St.  Teresa’s 
during  the  first  decade  of  its  existence  was  the  great  missionary, 
Father  De  Smet;  and  receptions  given  during  the  late  sixties 
to  John  C.  Fremont  and  General  James  Shields  were  long  re¬ 
membered  events. 

For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  St.  Teresa’s  was  the 
only  Catholic  school  of  higher  education  for  girls  in  Kansas 
City.  It  broadened  its  curriculum  with  the  growth  of  the  city 
and  the  advance  of  educational  ideals,  maintaining  always  the 
high  standard  of  efficiency  set  by  its  early  teachers.  From  its 

1*  Sister  F.  Joseph  Ivory’s  Notes  on  Kansas  City  Mission. 


144  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

inception,  music  and  art  played  important  parts  in  its  curriculum. 
The  womanly  accomplishments  common  to  all  the  old-time  board¬ 
ing  schools,  ornamental  needlework,  lace-making  and  tapestry, 
each  received  its  share  of  attention,  and  enhanced  by  their  dis¬ 
play  the  exhibit  of  school  work  which  marked  the  closing  days 
of  each  school  year. 

Under  Sister  De  Pazzi  O’Connor,  an  excellent  English  scholar, 
who  took  charge  in  1869,  literary  composition  and  expression 
became  leading  features,  zealously  cultivated  by  succeeding  in¬ 
structors.  Among  these  was  Sister  Antoinette  Slattery,  a  much 
loved  and  highly  esteemed  young  teacher,  who,  “gifted  with 
singular  intelligence  and  rare  graces,  knew  how  to  devote  these 
gifts  wholly  to  the  greater  glory  of  God  and  the  advantage  of 
her  neighbor.”  15  Her  failing  health  in  the  early  seventies  in¬ 
duced  Reverend  Mother  to  transfer  her  to  California  after  the 
opening  of  a  mission  there  at  Yuma.  Several  years  of  suffering, 
during  which  no  amount  of  pain  or  weakness  could  prevent  her 
daily  attendance  at  Mass  and  community  exercises,  preceded  her 
beautiful  death,  the  news  of  which  reaching  Kansas  City  drew 
forth  touching  expressions  of  sympathy  from  pupils  to  whom 
her  devoted  life  had  proved  an  inspiration.  Sisters  Bridget 
Burke,  Prudentia  Reilly,  M.  De  Britto  O’Neill,  and  Holy  Cross 
Bernelin  of  the  Lyons  novitiate,  who  succumbed  to  the  severity 
of  the  American  winters  and  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  garden 
cemetery  of  St.  Teresa’s  in  1872,  were  pioneers  of  the  academy, 
which  extended  its  activities  and  its  influence  as  the  years  passed, 
and  celebrated  its  fiftieth  anniversary  in  a  new  abode  at  Wind- 
moor,  the  home  of  the  St.  Teresa  Junior  College  referred  to  more 
fully  in  a  subsequent  chapter.  The  list  of  its  alumnae  contains 
names  distinguished  in  the  pioneer  history  of  the  city  as  well  as 
in  that  of  more  recent  date;  and  the  number  is  uncounted  of  its 
past  pupils  who  heeded  literally  the  Master’s  precept,  following 
Him  into  the  “valley  of  silence.” 

The  same  is  true  of  many  other  schools,  notably  that  of  the 

15  Necrology  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph.  St.  Louis,  1883. 


J45 


MOTHER  SAINT  JOHN  FACEMAZ 

Immaculate  Conception  in  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  the  first  dis¬ 
tinctively  German  school  undertaken  by  the  Community  in  the 
St.  Louis  Province.  This,  with  St.  Mary’s  Convent  in  Brook¬ 
field,  commenced  in  1871,  and  the  academy  in  Chillicothe  in  1872, 
were  begun  at  the  request  of  Bishop  Hogan,  who  welcomed  the 
Sisters  to  what  he  designated  as  “your  own  diocese  of  St.  Joseph, 
quite  as  poor  and  unknown  to  the  world  as  he  was.”  16 

On  a  bitter  cold  day  in  January,  the  first  colony  of  Sisters 
reached  Chillicothe,  to  find  that  through  some  misunderstanding 
no  provision  had  been  made  for  their  coming.  An  old  hotel 
known  as  the  Redding  House,  rented  by  the  parish  for  a  school 
and  vacated  the  day  before  their  arrival,  presented  only  bare 
walls  and  heaps  of  debris.  Fortunately,  the  day  was  not  far 
advanced  when  the  Sisters  reached  the  place ;  and  with  their  own 
stout  hearts  and  the  willing  hands  of  Father  Abel,  the  pastor,  and 
his  numerous  helpers,  they  were  able  before  nightfall  to  refuse 
the  many  offers  of  shelter  beneath  the  hospitable  roofs  of  kindly 
disposed  neighbors,  and  lighted  their  own  hearth  fires. 

The  trials  incident  to  a  first  foundation  were  not  borne  by 
the  Sisters  alone ;  their  burdens  were  shared  by  Father  Abel  and 
his  generous  parishioners,  among  them  Peter  Markey  and  his 
family,  also  the  McNallys,  McGuires,  and  Fitzpatricks,  with  a 
spirit  that  made  possible  the  erection  of  an  academy  the  following 
summer,  and  started  it  on  its  long  and  prosperous  career.  Ef¬ 
ficient  teachers  perpetuated  the  work  of  the  first  faculty,  Sisters 
M.  Herman  Lacy,  Mary  Margaret  Spellman,  Wilhelmina  Deken, 
and  Lucina  Crooks.  Numerous  additions  and  improvements 
enlarged  the  scope  of  academic  work,  increasing  the  facilities  for 
music  and  art;  and  the  scientific  department  was  equipped  by 
loyal  alumnae. 

A  courageous  band  of  Sisters  from  the  Mother  House  braved 
the  perils  of  western  travel  in  1870,  reaching  Tuscon,  Arizona, 
after  a  long  and  arduous  journey.  St.  Patrick’s  Academy  in 
Memphis,  Tennessee,  begun  in  1871,  a  parochial  school  in  the 

16  Bishop  Hogan  to  Mother  St.  John,  Oct.  6,  1870. 


146  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

same  year  at  Warrington,  Florida,  and  one  in  St.  Louis  in  1872, 
St.  Lawrence’s,  completed  the  circle  of  Missouri  and  southern 
missions  established  by  Mother  Saint  John  Facemaz.  Mean¬ 
while,  interesting  though  trying  scenes  of  missionary  life  were 
being  enacted  in  the  northern  peninsula  of  Michigan,  at  Han¬ 
cock,  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  L’Anse,  whither  Sisters  were  sent 
'from  Carondelet  in  1866;  and  in  Marquette,  where  a  boarding 
and  day  academy  was  opened  in  1871.  These  were  all  in  the 
diocese  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Marquette,  then  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  its  first  bishop,  the  illustrious  Frederic  Baraga. 

The  northern  country  was  as  rich  in  historical  traditions  as 
in  the  wild  and  varied  beauty  of  its  scenery.  Sault  Ste.  Marie, 
on  St.  Mary’s  River,  “three  leagues  below  Lake  Superior  and 
twelve  above  the  Lake  of  the  Hurons,”  17  lav  near  the  terminus 
of  a  gradual  cascade,  where  the  waters  of  the  upper  lake  broke 
and  scattered  over  the  rocky  river  bed,  rendering  passage  at  that 
point  extremely  difficult.  Quantities  of  lake  trout  brought  down 
by  the  swift  current  attracted  the  wandering  Huron  and  Algon¬ 
quin  tribes  whom  Fathers  Raymboult  and  Isaac  Jogues  found 
there  in  1641,  and  for  whom  they  erected  on  the  shore  a  cross, 
the  sign  of  redemption.  Rene  Menard,  after  touching  at  the 
Sault  with  a  fleet  of  Ottawa  canoes  in  the  fall  of  1660,  passed 
the  winter  at  L’Anse  Bay  on  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Superior. 
After  much  suffering  and  harsh  treatment  from  hostile  natives, 
he  entered  the  arch-shaped  inlet  on  October  15,  and  called  it  St. 
Teresa’s  Bay.  “I  had  the  consolation  of  saying  Mass  there,” 
he  wrote  to  his  superiors,  “to  pay  myself  with  interest  for  all 
my  past  woes.  It  was  here  I  began  a  Christian  community, 
which  is  composed  of  the  Flying  Church  of  the  Savage  Chris¬ 
tians,  more  nearly  adjacent  to  our  French  settlements,  and  one 
of  those  whom  God’s  compassion  has  drawn  hither.”  18 

No  sign  of  this  Christian  community  remained  in  1843,  when 
the  missionary,  Father  Baraga,  his  heart  burning  for  the  regenera- 

17  father  dablon  in  Jesuit  Relations ,  vol.  54,  p.  129. 

18  Jesuit  Relations,  vol.  48,  p.  265. 


MOTHER  SAINT  JOHN  FACEMAZ  147 

tion  of  pagans,  overcame  appalling  difficulties  of  travel,  and 
reached  L’Anse  Bay,  to  find  it  surrounded  by  Chippewa  tribes, 
steeped  in  intemperance  and  idolatry.  Ten  years  of  his  devoted 
life  he  gave  to  reclaim  them  to  God  and  to  civilization,  building 
for  them  homes,  a  school  house,  and  a  church.  These  skirted 
the  shore  of  the  bay,  facing  the  wide  expanse  of  water,  and  were 
llanked  by  miles  of  meadow  land  and  groves  of  elm,  evergreen, 
and  sugar  maple  trees.  Wild  berries  that  grew  in  profusion 
on  the  hillsides  and  white  fish  from  the  bay  furnished  the  chief 
sustenance  of  the  roving  bands,  that,  under  the  influence  of 
Father  Baraga,  settled  down  into  a  sober  and  industrious  people 
and  eagerly  sought  the  instruction  which  he  imparted  to  them 
daily  as  priest  and  schoolmaster. 

He  had  hardly  begun  his  labors  at  L’Anse,  when  the  rich  copper 
and  iron  deposits  of  the  Lake  Superior  region  began  to  attract 
large  numbers  from  the  States  and  Canada,  and  white  settlers, 
French,  German  and  Irish,  scattered  among  the  Indian  missions. 
Numerous  towns  sprang  into  being  on  the  resulting  wave  of 
industry;  and  when  Father  Baraga  was  consecrated  Bishop  and 
Vicar-Apostolic  of  Upper  Michigan  in  1853,  his  territory  ex¬ 
tended  six  hundred  miles  along  the  Lake  shore,19  besides  includ¬ 
ing  the  Indians  of  the  Lower  Peninsula.20  His  first  episcopal 
city,  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  soon  had  rivals  in  Marquette,  a  rapidly 
growing  town  with  a  handsome  church  and  a  convent  of  Ur- 
sulines;  and  in  Hancock,  where  in  1861  St.  Anne’s  Church 
was  dedicated.  From  Father  Edward  Jacker  in  Hancock  and 
John  Baptist  Menet,  Jesuit  pastor  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  came 
petitions  to  Mother  Saint  John  in  1865  and  1866  for  teachers. 
In  June,  1866,  she  dispatched  Mother  Agatha  Guthrie,  Assistant- 
General,  and  Sister  Julia  Littenecker  to  Michigan  to  complete 
arrangements  for  these  schools,  both  of  which  she  had  accepted. 
The  Sisters  were  charmed  with  the  beauty  of  the  North,  its 

19  Richard  h.  clarke,  A.M Lives  of  Deceased  Bishops,  p.  496.  New 
York,  1872. 

20 Chrysostom  verwyst,  o.f.m..  Life  of  Bishop  Baraga,  p.  255.  Milwaukee. 
1900. 


148  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

healthful  climate,  clear,  cold  springs  and  great  forests,  then  in 
the  first  glow  of  their  autumn  coloring,  making  a  strong  appeal 
to  both. 

Still  greater  was  the  impression  made  on  them  by  the  Indian 
mission  at  L’Anse,  where  they  went  in  company  with  Father 
Jacker,  rounding  the  bay  in  a  light  canoe.  Here  Father  Gerard 
Terhorst,  deterred  by  the  poverty  of  the  place  from  asking  for 
Sisters,  had  been  for  a  long  time  praying  that  the  blessing  of 
religious  instructors  might  yet  be  vouchsafed  to  his  neophytes. 
To  Mother  Agatha  and  her  companion  Indian  education  was  a 
subject  for  enthusiasm;  and  all  looked  upon  this  chance  visit 
of  theirs  as  providential,  especially  when,  on  their  return  to  Caron¬ 
delet,  Mother  Saint  John  yielded  to  their  entreaties  to  send  a 
community  to  St.  Xavier’s  school  at  L’Anse.  She  agreed  to 
this  the  more  readily  as,  according  to  Father  Terhorst’s  repre¬ 
sentation,  the  Sisters  were  much  desired  by  the  Chippewas,  one 
of  whom,  speaking  for  all,  after  seeing  the  visitors,  had  said: 
“If  they  have  real  charity,  like  our  great  and  good  Father,  the 
Bishop,  who  left  all  and  lived  among  us  for  ten  years,  when  we 
were  much  more  wretched  than  we  are  now,  they  will  come  and 
live  among  us  at  once.”  21 

On  August  6,  the  thirteen  Sisters  destined  for  these  three 
missions  left  Carondelet,  accompanied  to  Chicago  by  Mother 
Saint  John,  who  after  seeing  them  on  board  a  lake  steamer — 
its  sole  passengers — bade  them  adieu.  On  the  evening  of  August 
12,  they  reached  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  where  Sister  M.  de  Chantal 
Martin  and  three  other  Sisters  left  the  steamer  for  their  new 
mission,  amid  the  regrets  of  the  remaining  nine  that  the  delay 
was  not  long  enough  to  allow  all  to  accompany  the  travellers 
to  their  residence.  This  residence  was  the  former  “palace”  of 
Bishop  Baraga,  a  plain  two-story  frame  house,  vacated  by  him 
a  few  months  before  when  his  see  was  transferred  to  Marquette. 
The  Sault  had  been  described  to  Mother  Saint  John  by  Father 

21  Father  G.  Terhorst  to  Mother  Saint  John,  July  18,  1866.  Carondelet 
Archives. 


149 


MOTHER  SAINT  JOHN  FACEMAZ 

Menet  as  ‘'dead  in  winter,  but  very  animated  in  summer  on 
account  of  the  ships  that  pass  and  the  strangers  who  came  for 
health  or  pleasure.”  22  In  spite  of  the  transient  nature  of  a 
great  part  of  the  population,  forty  pupils  were  soon  enrolled 
in  the  school  that  was  opened  under  the  patronage  of  the  Sacred 
Heart. 

Meanwhile,  the  remaining  Sisters  had  landed  at  Hancock,  then 
a  village  of  a  few  streets,  with  scattered  houses  appearing  here 
and  there  among  the  wooded  hills.  A  crowd  of  small  boys, 
prospective  pupils,  evidently  on  the  watch  for  the  newcomers, 
gave  them  a  spontaneous  welcome,  and  with  noisy  and  good- 
natured  rivalry,  escorted  them  to  their  destination.  A  wagon 
drawn  by  oxen  brought  up  their  baggage.  Six  of  the  band, 
with  Sister  Gonzaga  Grand  as  Superior,  remained  in  Hancock, 
and  after  a  few  days  spent  with  them,  Sisters  Justine  Lemay, 
Marcelline  Reilly  and  Maxime  Croisat,  left  in  an  open  boat  with 
two  native  rowers  for  L’Anse,  twenty-five  miles  distant.  Fathers 
Jacker  and  Terhorst  accompanied  them;  and  as  they  neared  their 
journey’s  end,  chanting  the  Ave  Maris  Stella  and  the  Litany  of 
Loretto,  their  twelve  hours’  trip  took  on  the  character  of  a 
pilgrimage. 

It  was  dark  when  Nokomis,  Indian  housekeeper  at  the  mission, 
letting  fall  her  candle  in  fright  at  the  first  view  of  the  Sisters, 
showed  them  to  their  poor  abode,  a  log  cottage,  where  ticks 
spread  on  benches  furnished  their  hard  beds,  and  blocks  of  wood 
did  duty  for  chairs.  This  house  Father  Terhorst  soon  took 
for  himself,  giving  them  his  own  more  comfortable  one  in 
exchange.  Their  first  day  in  L’Anse  they  spent  in  making  a 
tour  of  the  village — sixty  families  in  all — entering  every  house 
and  wigwam,  allaying  the  fears  of  the  timid  children  and  making 
friends  with  the  parents.  Forty  boys  and  girls  attended  school 
the  first  year,  the  government  providing  a  small  compensation. 
In  the  summer  of  1867,  the  zealous  pastor,  with  the  aid  of  a  few 
Indians,  began  the  erection  of  a  convent,  using  for  material  the 


22  Letter  dated  Sept.  26,  1865. 


150  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

heaps  of  stones  gathered  up  during  the  gardening  processes  of 
many  years.  It  was  completed  in  October;  and,  considering  the 
amateur  builders,  was  a  remarkable  achievement.  It  consisted , 
of  three  stories  and  a  basement,  with  a  girls’  class  room  and 
provision  for  a  small  number  of  girl  boarders.  On  October  28, 
the  first  Mass  was  said  in  the  chapel. 

Home  made  furniture,  desks,  tables,  cupboards,  and  wardrobes 
attested  the  ingenuity  of  the  missionary  and  his  assistants,  who 
also  lathed  and  plastered  the  building.  The  cold  weather  set 
in  before  the  walls  were  dry,  and  every  morning  they  were 
covered  with  frost,  “very  nice  to  look  at,  but  not  so  nice  to  feel, 
for  when  it  melted,  the  water  ran  down  in  streams.”  23  The 
bitter  cold  of  the  northern  winter  was  only  one  source  of  the 
sufferings  experienced  by  the  Sisters,  but  borne  cheerfully  by 
them  in  the  consciousness  that  their  labors  were  every  day  yield¬ 
ing  fruit  in  the  hearts  of  a  simple  and  grateful  people.  With 
patient  industry,  they  cleared  and  planted  their  own  small  gar¬ 
den,  teaching  the  Indians  to  do  the  same.  These  lived  mostly 
by  hunting  and  fishing,  making  maple  sugar  in  the  spring  and 
gathering  berries  from  the  hills.  In  winter,  over  holes  cut  in 
the  ice,  they  watched  in  relays  day  and  night  for  fish,  transport¬ 
ing  it  to  their  homes  on  dogsleds.  The  beginning  of  a  new  year 
was  always  a  season  of  great  tribal  rejoicing.  Pagan  Indians 
came  from  the  surrounding  woods,  wrapped  in  blankets,  their 
faces  painted,  some  accompanied  by  their  families,  and  each 
bringing  his  offering  for  the  general  good  cheer — a  canine 
favorite,  slaughtered  for  the  occasion. 

Sister  Justine  took  advantage  of  these  gatherings  to  represent 
to  the  parents  of  young  girls  the  benefits  of  leaving  these  with 
the  Sisters.  Her  first  efforts  to  secure  their  daughters,  often 
girls  of  great  beauty,  met  with  flat  refusals  from  both  fathers 
and  mothers,  who  evinced  much  tenderness  for  their  children, 
and  could  not  be  induced  to  part  with  them.  Gradually,  however, 
boarders  came  in  such  numbers  that,  in  1877,  an  extension  was 

23  Diary  of  sister  justine  lemay.  Carondelet  Archives, 


MOTHER  SAINT  JOHN  FACEMAZ  151 

made  to  the  convent  for  their  accommodation.  Encouraged  by 
the  successful  outcome  of  this  feature  of  the  work,  Father  Ter- 
horst  erected  a  home  for  orphan  boys  which  was  soon  filled. 

In  1872,  Sister  Saint  Protais  came  to  L’Anse,  delighted  at 
the  realization  of  her  lifelong  wish  to  contribute  ever  so  little 
to  the  conversion  of  the  Indians.  She  was  soon  a  favorite  with 
old  and  young,  and  spent  here  the  remaining  years  of  her  life, 
visiting  the  sick  and  infirm,  and  doing  good  everywhere  to  every 
one.  Her  humility  and  simple  trust  in  God  are  well  exemplified 
by  her  response  to  the  good-natured  teasing  of  the  Sisters  who 
had  seen  her  weary  head  nodding  during  the  long  evening  prayers 
in  the  chapel :  “Well,  does  not  the  dog  sleep  at  his  Master’s 
feet?”  During  her  long  residence  in  the  North,  she  acquired 
such  skill  in  the  preparation  of  simple  remedies  for  the  sick,  that 
the  Indians  attributed  to  her  extraordinary  healing  powers 
and  placed  implicit  confidence  in  her  ability  to  cure  their 
maladies. 

Her  death,  the  result  of  a  fall,  occurred  on  April  12,  1892, 
that  being  Monday  in  Holy  Week.  A  communication  received 
at  the  Mission  from  the  Mother  House  requested  that  her  body 
be  brought  to  Carondelet  for  interment;  but  the  Indians  raised 
a  storm  of  protest,  claiming  that  as  she  had  spent  twenty  years 
of  her  life  among  them,  she  should  not  be  taken  from  them  in 
death.  Reverend  Mother  yielded  to  their  wishes,  and  the  pre¬ 
cious  remains  were  laid  to  rest  in  the  Mission  graveyard  beside 
those  of  Sister  Ermelina  McCauley,  who  was  called  to  her  reward 
in  1885  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-two  years.  As  time  went  on, 
Sisters  Agnes  Ryan,  and  Genevieve  Horine,  sent  in  failing  health 
to  the  bracing  climate  of  Michigan,  and  Sister  Ildephonse  Anter- 
meyer,  veteran  missionary,  who  in  1905,  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy  on  the  scene  of  her  long  labors,  “found  their  resting 
places  among  a  race  whom  they  (the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph)  had 
benefited  by  their  sacrifices.”  24 

24  antoine  ivan  rezek,  History  of  the  Diocese  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and 
Marquette,  p.  245.  Houghton,  Michigan,  1906. 


152  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Financial  difficulties  and  great  business  depression  between 
1871  and  1874  affected  the  copper  country,  and  caused  the  with¬ 
drawal  of  the  Sisters  from  the  Sault  and  the  temporary  closing 
of  the  school  in  Hancock.  Though  this  was  reopened  in  1877 
under  the  favorable  conditions  that  contributed  to  its  great  future 
success  as  one  of  the  large  schools  of  the  diocese,  its  failure  at 
the  time  was  much  regretted  by  the  venerable  Bishop  Mrak, 
successor  to  Bishop  Baraga  in  the  see  of  Marquette,  especially 
as  the  Ursulines  of  his  episcopal  city  were  preparing  to  abandan 
their  academy  and  return  to  Canada.  Urged  by  him,  Mother 
Saint  John  bought  the  property  of  the  Ursulines,  a  block  of 
ground  and  a  three  story  brick  convent,  and  continued  the 
school,  sending  as  its  first  community  Sisters  M.  de  Chantal, 
Alphonsus  Byrne,  M.  Bernard  Walsh,  Agnes  Gill  and  Zita 
Kavanaugh. 

The  academy,  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Joseph,  succeeded 
beyond  all  expectation.  One  of  its  first  graduates  was  Katherine 
Rossiter,  who  after  finishing  her  education  entered  the  novitiate 
in  Carondelet.  As  Sister  Mary  Agnes,  she  returned  to  Mar¬ 
quette  in  1879,  at  which  time  Sister  De  Pazzi  O’Connor,  was 
in  charge  of  the  school.  This,  one  of  two  boarding  schools  in 
all  of  Upper  Michigan,  grew  by  leaps  and  bounds  into  a  first 
class  institution  patronized  by  students  from  the  neighboring 
states,  and  enjoyed  the  encouragement  of  Bishop  Mrak  and  his 
successors.  A  home  for  orphan  girls  was  erected  on  a  portion 
of  the  convent  grounds  and  supported  by  voluntary  contribution. 
Bishop  Mrak,  after  resigning  his  see,  spent  many  years  of  his 
retirement  as  chaplain  of  the  convent.  Numerous  instances  are 
on  record  of  his  deep  piety  and  simple  manners,  and  of  his  love 
for  the  orphans,  for  whose  benefit  he  gave  generously  from  his 
small  store,  always  with  the  injunction  that  the  giving  be  kept 
secret. 

For  many  years,  the  Sisters  from  the  northern  missions  made 
the  annual  retreat  at  the  old  Mission  in  L’Anse,  or  as  it  came 


MOTHER  SAINT  JOHN  FACEMAZ  153 

to  be  called,  Baraga,25  where  the  sheltering  pines  and  the  cool  lake 
breezes  made  up  for  the  lack  of  indoor  comforts.  Frequently 
the  only  means  of  transit  to  and  fro  was  a  small  lake  steamer 
which  flaunted  the  interesting  legend:  “This  boat  not  safe  in  a 
storm.”  If  they  tempted  Providence  by  embarking  in  the  frail 
craft  which  thus  frankly  exposed  its  deficiences,  no  vengeance 
was  ever  wreaked  on  them  for  their  temerity.  They  always 
reached  their  destined  port  in  safety.  Blessings  rested  on  their 
labors ;  and  the  first  missions  of  L’Anse,  Hancock  and  Marquette, 
planted  by  Mother  Saint  John  Facemaz  in  the  lake  district,  were 
increased  over  five- fold  under  her  successors. 

25  L’Anse  was  the  name  originally  given  to  all  the  country  round  the  bay 
of  that  name  (Keweenaw  Bay)  including  the  site  of  the  mission  buildings. 
The  mission  church  was  the  only  one  until  1872,  when  another  was  erected 
on  the  east  side  of  the  bay,  nine  miles  from  the  mission,  at  the  present 
city  of  L’Anse.  A  settlement  begun  near  the  mission  in  1883  was  called 
Baraga,  and  by  this  name  also  the  mission  was  then  designated  until  the  erec¬ 
tion  of  a  post  office  there  in  the  nineties,  when  it  was  given  its  present  name 
of  Assinins.  rezek,  op.  cit.,  vol.  I,  p.  393;  vol.  II,  pp.  234,  244,  247. 

When  Baraga  was  built,  the  Indians  wished  it  called  Justine ,  but  yielded 
their  choice  of  a  name  to  one  that  they  loved  better  than  any  other. 


CHAPTER  XI 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  REVEREND  MOTHER  AGATHA 

GUTHRIE.  (1872-1904) 

In  the  election  of  a  successor  to  Reverend  Mother  Saint  John 
Facemaz  on  May  3,  1872,  the  choice  of  the  Sisters  fell  on  her 
assistant,  Mother  Agatha  Guthrie.  For  thirty-two  years,  until 
her  death  in  1904,  through  successive  elections,  often  against  her 
own  protest,  she  was  retained  in  office  as  Superior-General  of 
the  Congregation.  At  the  close  of  her  long  life,  she  was  ranked 
as  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  women  of  the  Church  in 
America.1 

In  birth,  training  and  character,  Reverend  Mother  Agatha  was 
an  American.  She  was  born  in  Bradford  County,  Pennsylvania, 
August  31,  1829,  the  only  daughter  of  non-Catholic  parents, 
Charles  Guthrie  and  Harriet  Grace,  both  of  whose  ancestors  had 
emigrated  from  England  to  America  in  pre-Revolutionary  times. 
Her  maternal  grandfather,  Joseph  Grace,  and  his  brother 
Emanuel,  stalwart  men  over  six  feet  in  height,  joined  a  company 
of  American  militia  in  Boston,  and  fought  their  first  battle  at 
Bunker  Hill.  After  the  war,  Joseph  with  his  wife,  Hannah 
Salisbury,  left  the  old  homestead  in  Massachusetts  to  settle  in 
Bradford  County,  Pennsylvania.  To  this  place,  the  Guthries 
also  had  removed  from  their  original  location  in  the  Chenango 
Valley  in  eastern  New  York. 

Charles  Guthrie,  at  the  time  of  his  marriage  to  beautiful 
Harriet  Grace,  was  engaged  in  farming  at  Springfield,  Penn¬ 
sylvania.  He  was  a  man  of  refined  tastes,  particularly  fond  of 
music,  which  he  cultivated  as  a  pastime.  A  member  of  no 
church,  he  believed  in  God  and  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul; 
and,  honest  and  God-fearing,  a  lover  of  his  fellow-men,  he 

1  Church  Progress,  St.  Louis,  Feb.  20,  1904. 

154 


MOTHER  AGATHA  GUTHRIE 


i55 


regulated  his  life  in  strict  accordance  with  his  lights.  His  wife, 
several  years  after  her  marriage,  became  a  Methodist,  and  re¬ 
mained  a  devout  member  of  that  persuasion  until  her  eightieth 
year. 

Their  little  daughter,  whom  they  called  Minerva,  was  sent  to 
school  at  the  early  age  of  four  years.  A  long  remembered  ex¬ 
perience  of  hers  was  playing  truant  during  those  very  youthful 
school  days,  when  the  attraction  of  the  green  hillside  near  her 
home  was  stronger  than  that  of  chart  or  desk.  Her  only  brother, 
Martin  Van  Buren,  died  in  infancy;  and  when  she  was  twelve 
years  old,  she  lost  her  father,  to  whom  she  was  tenderly  devoted 
and  whom  she  resembled  much  in  character  and  disposition. 
The  family  had,  in  the  meantime,  removed  to  Illinois ;  and  in  the 
public  schools  of  Ottawa  and  Peru,  Minerva  finished  her  educa¬ 
tion.  With  her  mother’s  great  beauty,  she  had  inherited  her 
father’s  love  for  music;  and  attracted  largely  by  her  enjoyment 
of  a  well  sung  Methodist  hymn,  she  adopted  the  religion  of  her 
mother.  “Oh,  if  I  could  always  hear  such  singing,”  she  once 
exclaimed  to  the  latter  in  a  burst  of  enthusiasm,  “I  would  feel 
as  happy  as  if  I  were  going  to  Heaven.”  2 

At  eighteeen,  she  was  a  teacher  in  a  select  school  in  St.  Louis. 
Here  she  formed  a  close  friendship  with  a  young  Irish  Catholic 
girl,  a  companion  teacher,  whom  she  frequently  accompanied 
to  church,  and  from  whom  she  eagerly  sought  information  re¬ 
garding  the  Catholic  faith.  On  the  invitation  of  her  friend,  she 
attended  some  lectures  given  at  St.  Francis  Xavier’s  Church  by 
its  pastor,  Reverend  Arnold  Damen  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.3 
The  forceful  words  of  this  celebrated  preacher  and  missionary 

2  The  foregoing  facts  of  Mother  Agatha’s  family  and  early  life  were 
given  by  her  mother  to  the  Sister  historian  at  Carondelet  in  1890. 

3  Father  Damen,  a  native  of  Holland,  accompanied  Father  De  Smet  on  a 
return  trip  to  America  in  1837,  and  entered  the  Jesuit  Novitiate  at  Floris¬ 
sant,  Missouri.  He  was  pastor  of  the  Jesuit  Church  in  St.  Louis  from  1847 
to  1857,  and  then  introduced  his  Order  into  Chicago,  organizing  Holy  Family 
Parish  there.  He  made  numerous  converts  during  the  course  of  his  long 
life.  His  death  occurred  at  Omaha,  January  1,  1890.  III.  Cath.  Hist.  Re¬ 
view,  vol.  I,  p.  436. 


156  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

brought  conviction  to  the  young  girl  searching  for  truth.  She 
lost  no  time  in  presenting  herself  for  instructions  to  Father 
Damen,  who  was  much  impressed  by  the  sincerity  of  his  neophyte, 
and  her  intelligent  grasp  of  the  doctrinal  problems  explained  to 
her.  She  was  baptized  by  him,  taking  the  name  of  Philomena 
and  discarding  completely  the  classic  appellation  given  her  by 
her  parents.  The  doctrine  of  the  real  presence  of  our  Lord  in 
the  Eucharist  appealed  strongly  to  her,  and  love  for  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  became  the  absorbing  devotion  of  her  life.  Mrs. 
Guthrie  objected  strongly  to  her  daughter’s  change  of  creed;4 
but  the  latter  remained  firm  in  the  practice  of  her  religion,  and 
three  years  after  her  baptism,  sought  entrance  into  the  novitiate 
at  Carondelet. 

It  was  in  the  early  summer  of  1850  that  Mother  Celestine 
received  the  tall,  graceful  girl,  who,  like  the  strong-souled  St. 
Teresa  presenting  herself  at  the  Spanish  Carmel  clad  in  brilliant 
yellow,  appeared  wearing  a  modish  gown  of  pink,  the  color 
setting  off  to  advantage  her  fair  complexion  and  wealth  of 
golden  hair.  As  she  had  come  provided  with  nothing  more 
neutral  in  shade,  she  was  permitted  for  a  while  to  retain  her 
pink  ;  but,  with  her  soul  intent  on  invisible  things,  she  was  quite 
unembarrassed  at  the  contrast  between  herself  and  her  dark- 
robed  companions.  On  the  feast  of  St.  Teresa,  1850,  she  re¬ 
ceived  the  habit  in  company  with  Justine  Thone,  a  native  of 
Germany,  who  was  given  the  name  of  Sister  Mary  Frances ;  and 
two  years  later,  on  the  same  feast,  both  made  their  vows.  Arch¬ 
bishop  Kenrick  officiated  at  the  ceremony,  assisted  by  Reverend . 
John  O’Hanlon. 

Mother  Agatha,  early  in  her  religious  life,  won  the  love  and 
confidence  of  Sisters  and  superiors,  and  rose  rapidly  into  prom¬ 
inence  in  the  community,  taking  in  the  hearts  of  all  the  esteemed 
place  which  she  never  lost,  but  held  for  over  fifty  years.  She 
was  among  the  original  band  of  Sisters  sent  to  Wheeling  in  1853, 

4  Mrs.  Guthrie  persevered  in  her  profession  of  Methodism  until  her  eightieth 
year,  when  she  was  baptized  a  Catholic  in  the  Carondelet  Chapel. 


MOTHER  AGATHA  GUTHRIE 

1829-1904 


' 


( 


MOTHER  AGATHA  GUTHRIE 


157 


and  for  a  short  time  was  stationed  at  the  Orphan  Asylum  in  St. 
Louis.  Here  it  was  that  she  imbibed  the  love  for  the  orphans 
that  made  her  a  friend  of  the  homeless  throughout  her  life.  In 
1861,  she  was  appointed  Provincial  Superior  in  Troy;  and  for 
six  years  previous  to  her  election  in  1872  as  Superior-General, 
she  had  served  at  the  Mother  House  in  the  capacity  of  Assistant- 
General. 

She  justified  the  Sisters’  almost  unanimous  choice  of  her  for 
the  highest  office  in  the  Congregation  by  the  many  noble  qualities 
of  mind  and  heart  which  she  displayed  in  the  exercise  of  her 
various  functions.  With  great  strength  of  character,  and  a 
remarkable  power  of  commanding,  she  mingled  rare  sweetness 
and  a  gentleness  that  seemed  almost  timidity.  Her  countenance 
beamed  with  kindness;  and  she  bore  herself  with  a  calm  dignity 
of  manner  that  was  never  disturbed,  even  in  perplexing  circum¬ 
stances.  To  those  who  marvelled  at  her  habitual  cheerfulness 
under  the  burdens  which  they  knew  that  she  bore,  she  often 
made  reply,  “It  comes  with  the  grace  of  office,”  and  she  acknowl¬ 
edged  that  she  never  allowed  worry  a  place  in  her  mind,  but 
submitted  all  to  Providence.  Of  herself,  of  the  circumstances 
surrounding  her  conversion  or  the  influences  that  led  her  to  em¬ 
brace,  first  the  Faith  and  then  the  religious  life,  she  seldom  spoke, 
even  to  those  most  intimately  associated  with  her. 

It  was  hard  for  many  to  realize  that  she  had  ever  been  outside 
the  fold.  On  one  rare  occasion,  she  surprised  a  Sister  com¬ 
panion,  who,  when  both  were  walking  near  a  non-Catholic  ceme¬ 
tery,  made  the  Sign  of  the  Cross,  remarking  that  she  always  did 
so  when  passing  a  Protestant  graveyard.  Reverend  Mother  was 
much  amused;  but  replied  seriously  and  with  just  a  touch  of 
sadness  that  came  to  her  in  thoughtful  moods:  “On  the  judg¬ 
ment  day,  it  is  from  such  a  place  that  all  of  mine  shall  rise.” 
“I  think  there  is  always  something  queer  about  converts,  don’t 
you?”  asked  a  Sister  of  her  one  day,  not  knowing  that  she  was 
addressing  one.  “Yes,  I  do,”  was  the  emphatic  answer  made 
by  Reverend  Mother;  and  thereafter,  she  was  accustomed  to 


1 58  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

explain  what  she  called  her  own  eccentricities  by  attributing  them 
to  the  “Protestant  in  me.”  She  cherished  a  special  fondness  for 
the  College  Church,  as  the  old  Jesuit  church  on  Ninth  Street 
was  called;  and  loved  to  slip  away  sometimes  with  a  companion 
to  spend  an  hour  in  a  quiet  corner  of  the  sacred  edifice  in  which 
she  had  first  heard  from  Father  Damen  the  words  of  Life  and  re¬ 
ceived  the  light  of  Faith. 

Always  shunning  public  notice  both  for  herself  and  her  com¬ 
munity,  she  loved  and  cultivated  the  hidden  life;  and  whenever 
the  stress  of  duty  permitted,  and  she  could  do  so  unperceived, 
she  spent  hours  before  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  Nothing  was 
more  distasteful  to  her  than  praise,  and  being  photographed  was 
an  ordeal  to  which  she  seldom  willingly  submitted.  It  was  only 
in  her  later  years  that  she  yielded  to  the  entreaties  of  the  Sisters 
for  a  portrait;  but  it  distressed  her  to  see  this  frequently  re¬ 
produced.  Entering  the  studio  one  day  when  no  one  was  present, 
she  found  on  an  easel  a  large  picture  of  herself,  well  on  the  way 
to  completion.  Filling  a  brush  with  paint,  she  began  to  daub  out 
the  eyes,  and  had  partially  succeeded,  when,  with  a  dismayed  cry, 
the  artist  appeared  in  the  doorway.  Quietly  continuing  her  work 
of  effacement,  Reverend  Mother  said  in  the  half-whispered  tones 
habitual  to  her :  “I  think  that  my  little  Sister  could  be  much 
better  employed.” 

Her  great  heart  seemed  to  embrace  not  only  all  who  suffered, 
but  all  who  sinned;  and  stories  of  weakness  or  wrong  doing  that 
reached  her  from  whatever  source  drew  forth  no  sterner  judg¬ 
ment  on  the  culprit  than  the  sympathetic  exclamation,  “Poor 
human  nature!”  The  words  of  St.  Francis  of  Assissi,  “What 
we  are  in  God’s  sight,  that  we  are  and  no  more,”  she  repeated 
so  frequently  as  to  make  the  expression  a  characteristic  one. 
For  the  poverty-stricken,  she  had  a  special  solicitude,  and  linked 
them  with  her  devotion  to  the  Apostles,  keeping  always  on  her 
private  list  of  charity  at  least  twelve  poor  persons.  None  en¬ 
joyed  more  than  she  did  the  community  recreations;  and  no 
incident  of  the  day,  as  related  by  the  Sisters,  was  too  trivial  to 


MOTHER  AGATHA  GUTHRIE 


159 


excite  her  interest  or  amusement.  A  good  listener,  and  always 
sparing  of  her  words,  she  rarely  led  in  conversation,  but  stim¬ 
ulated  it  by  her  clever  sallies  and  a  most  enjoyable  wit. 

Her  government  of  the  Congregation  was  firm  and  kind. 
Her  frequent  re-elections  proved  the  personal  devotion  of  the 
Sisters,  who  appreciated  her  great  and  lovable  qualities,  and 
their  confidence  in  the  wisdom  of  her  administration.  They 
brought  into  prominence  her  own  humility,  “the  touchstone  of 
religious  perfection  which  few  women  in  her  position  had  ever 
mastered  so  well”;  5  for  she  accepted  office  only  with  reluctance, 
and  would  gladly  have  laid  down  the  burden  of  authority  to 
enioy  the  coveted  retirement  which  her  necessarily  active  life 
precluded.  Much  of  her  success  in  the  management  of  the 
affairs  of  the  Congregation  was  due  to  the  aid  given  her  by  her 
councillors  and  other  able  officers  in  whose  selection  she  gave 
evidence  of  her  fine  powers  of  discernment.  The  early  hard¬ 
ships  of  the  Sisters  in  America,  their  long  struggle  with  poverty 
and  with  discouraging  and  adverse  circumstances,  had  been  the 
fiery  test  of  vocations,  and  had  produced  women  of  heroic  char¬ 
acter,  unselfish  and  self-sacrificing,  with  great  powers  of  endur¬ 
ance  in  trials  of  all  kinds,  and  with  a  clear  vision  of  the  spiritual 
values  of  life.  There  were  scores  of  such,  many  of  them  young 
in  years,  but  old  in  experience,  having  been  called  early  to 
positions  of  responsibility  or  of  peculiar  difficulty  in  the  growing 
Congregation. 

Reverend  Mother  Agatha’s  first  Council,  elected  with  her  in 
1872,  consisted  of  Mother  Saint  John  Facemaz,  Mother  Julia 
Littenecker  as  Assistant-General,  Sister  Theodora  McCormack 
and  Sister  Mary  Pius  Sexton.  The  last  named,  though  only  in 
her  twenty-ninth  year,  had  been  for  several  years  in  charge  of 
St.  Joseph’s  Hospital  in  St.  Paul,  a  position  which  called  for 
fortitude  and  a  fearlessness  of  danger  in  infected  wards;  but 
which  furnished  to  her  ardent  nature  an  opportunity  of  bringing 
many  a  hardened  sinner  to  a  death  bed  repentance,  and  numerous 

6  Church  Progress,  St.  Louis,  Feb.  20,  1904. 


160  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

non-Catholics  to  an  acceptance  of  the  truth.  Her  own  death 
occurred  at  the  Mother  House  after  a  very  brief  illness  April  27, 
1875,  on  the  eve  °f  a  General  Chapter  for  which  all  the  delegates 
had  assembled.  A  month  previous,  during  the  course  of  a  re¬ 
treat  which  Sister  Mary  Pius  made  with  unusual  fervor,  she 
remarked  to  the  Sisters  with  almost  prophetic  insight,  “This  may 
be  my  last  retreat/'  Such  it  proved,  though  at  the  time  death 
seemed  very  far  away.  The  deliberations  of  the  Chapter  were 
postponed,  while  the  Sisters  gathered  in  an  impressive  scene 
around  the  couch  of  their  dying  companion. 

She  was  replaced  by  Sister  Liguori  Monaghan;  and  in  1878, 
Sister  Adele  Hennessey  was  appointed  to  succeed  Sister  Theo¬ 
dora  McCormack,  a  cultured  woman  of  Irish  birth  and  training, 
who  was  made  Superior  in  Albany.  To  Sister  Adele  Hennessey, 
who  had  been  successively  Superior  of  St.  Patrick’s  in  St.  Louis 
and  in  Mobile,  Alabama,  fell  the  direction  of  the  schools,  which 
she  supervised  for  twenty-seven  years,  her  affability  and  gracious 
manner  winning  for  her  a  way  to  all  hearts ;  while  everywhere 
in  the  class  room  was  felt  the  benefit  of  her  systematic  and 
practical  methods  of  organization.  No  other  changes  were  made 
in  the  General  Council  until  1896;  and  the  character  of  per¬ 
manency  which  that  important  body  developed,  coupled  with 
the  exalted  personal  qualities  of  its  members,  lent  weight  to  its 
decisions  and  commanded  confidence. 

Few  members  of  the  Congregation  have  been  held  in  more 
universal  esteem  than  Mother  Julia  Littenecker.  As  local  Su¬ 
perior,  mistress  of  novices  or  councillor,  her  influence  was  con¬ 
stantly  exerted  in  promoting  pious  organizations  and  societies, 
in  the  spread  of  good  reading,  and  in  exemplifying  a  great  ideal. 
“An  hour  with  Mother  Julia  meant  courage  for  the  faltering, 
strength  for  the  weak,  impulse  to  the  ardent  and  zealous,  and 
to  all  a  closer  approach  to  God,  in  whose  presence  she  always 
moved  with  the  gentle  strength  that  accomplished  wonders  in 
her  work  for  souls.”  6  A  good  Latin  and  English  scholar,  she 

6  Western  Watchman,  St.  Louis,  May  25,  1913. 


MOTHER  AGATHA  GUTHRIE 


161 


was  also  conversant  with  German,  French,  Italian,  and  Spanish, 
and  was  an  authority  on  Church  music  and  hagiology.  In  1867, 
she  accompanied  the  Superior-General  to  Rome.  From  its 
shrines  as  well  as  from  other  noted  ones  in  Italy  and  France — 
Loreto,  Genezzano,  Lourdes,  La  Salette  and  Lyons — she  gath¬ 
ered  stores  of  information  and  sacred  lore,  which  it  was  her  de¬ 
light  to  impart  to  the  Sisters  for  their  edification  and  instruction. 

She  interested  herself  in  foreign  missions  with  a  truly  apos¬ 
tolic  spirit.  Among  her  correspondents  were  members  of  reli¬ 
gious  orders  in  Europe  and  America,  and  missionaries  in  China 
and  Palestine,  who  kept  her  informed  of  their  work  and  relied 
much  on  her  assistance  in  both  material  and  spiritual  ways. 
When,  in  1886,  a  call  from  the  United  States  Government  on 
behalf  of  the  California  Indians  opened  up  to  the  Congregation 
a  new  field  for  its  activities,  it  was  to  Mother  Julia  that  the 
difficult  task  of  inaugurating  Catholic  instruction  among  them 
was  confided.  For  three  months  she  remained  at  the  Yuma 
Reservation,  guiding  and  directing  the  teachers  and  winning  the 
hearts  of  the  simple  natives,  whose  conversion  to  the  Faith 

V 

became  the  object  of  her  zeal  and  her  prayers  until  it  was  happily 
accomplished. 

For  many  years,  she  added  to  her  other  duties  those  of  cus¬ 
todian  of  the  relics  with  which  the  chapel  at  the  Mother  House 
was  enriched  during  the  Pontificate  of  Pius  IX.  In  connection 
with  this  occupation,  she  made  the  history  of  the  martyrs  an 
absorbing  study,  and  became  a  most  devout  client  of  those  heroic 
souls.  She  established  in  the  Congregation  the  Confraternity  of 
the  Sacred  Heart,  and  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  beatification 
of  the  apostle  of  this  devotion,  Father  Claude  de  la  Colombiere, 
offering  and  procuring  from  others  many  prayers  and  novenas 
that  he  might  be  publicly  honored  by  the  Church.  In  order  to 
spread  devotion  to  St.  Joseph,  she  compiled  from  indulgenced 
prayers  a  popular  book  of  devotion  in  his  honor,*  which,  first 

7  The  Crown  of  St.  Joseph,  D.  J.  Sadlier  and  Co.  New  York  and  Mon¬ 
treal,  1875. 


1 62  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

published  in  1875,  went  through  a  third  edition  in  1880.  As  a 
frontispiece  to  this  book,  appeared  for  the  first  time  an  engraving 
of  the  Saint  under  the  title  Pater  Amabilis ,  copied  from  a  paint¬ 
ing  made  in  the  Gagliardi  Studio  in  Rome  for  the  convent  in 
Carondelet.  This  was  a  companion  piece  to  Mater  Amabilis8 
also  executed  by  Gagliardi  to  commemorate  the  feast  of  our 
Blessed  Mother  erected  by  Pius  IX,  February  26,  1874,  for  the 
Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  of  Carondelet,  and  celebrated  in  their 
convents  on  the  second  Sunday  after  Easter.  Mother  Julia  was 
specially  interested  in  obtaining  this  favor.  For  over  sixty 
years,  fifty  of  which  were  spent  almost  continuously  at  the 
Mother  House,  she  devoted  her  time,  talents  and  energy  to  pre¬ 
serving  the  spirit  and  traditions  of  the  Congregation,  of  which 
she  was  one  of  the  strongest  supports. 

Intimately  associated  with  her  and  with  Reverend  Mother 
Agatha  from  1875,  was  Sister  Liguori  Monaghan,  who,  for 
thirty-eight  years,  in  the  capacity  of  treasurer,  managed  all  the 
important  financial  affairs  of  the  Congregation.  She  was  a 
native  of  Savannah,  Georgia,  and  entered  the  novitiate  in  Caron¬ 
delet  in  1861.  Her  intense  devotion  to  duty  and  her  wonderful 
spirit  of  sacrifice  never  dampened  the  ardor  of  her  love  for  the 
Southland,  which  she  left  during  a  troubled  period.  With 
shrewd  business  instinct  and  a  capacity  for  handling  complex 
transactions,  she  united  a  delicate  sense  of  humor  and  a  sweet¬ 
ness  of  disposition  and  manner  that  won  love  and  confidence 
from  young  and  old.  She  had  a  strong  faith  in  Providence ; 
and  the  difficulties  and  distracting  cares  of  her  position  never 
altered  her  habitual  calm.  She  seemed  literally  to  have  cast 
all  her  care  upon  the  Lord,  while  labouring  unceasingly  as  the 
faithful  steward  of  His  goods. 

In  the  early  days  of  her  treasurership,  and  often  afterwards 
when  funds  were  low,  Sister  Liguori  contrived  with  great  in- 

8  On  May  15,  1874,  our  Holy  Father  granted  an  indulgence  of  three  hun¬ 
dred  days  for  the  recitation  of  the  Sub  tuum  before  this  picture,  which  was 
specially  blessed  by  him.  Documents  in  Carondelet  Archives. 


MOTHER  AGATHA  GUTHRIE  163 

genuity  to  lessen  expenditures  and  increase  her  capital.  One 
means  which  afforded  her  great  pleasure  as  well  as  profit  was 
making  the  numerous  wax  candles  needed  for  the  chapel.  She 
watched  and  tended  with  enthusiasm  each  process,  from  the 
spreading  of  the  brown  flakes  that  lay  bleaching  in  the  sun, 
until  the  finished  product  gleamed  tall  and  creamy  white  on 
the  marble  altars,  often  their  only  decoration.  For  years,  she 
was  afflicted  with  deafness,  which  debarred  her  from  many  of  the 
pleasures  of  social  intercourse ;  but  the  recreation  hour  found 
her  always  in  her  accustomed  place  among  the  Sisters,  con¬ 
tributing  in  her  quiet  way  to  the  enjoyment  of  all. 

She  was  loyally  devoted  to  Reverend  Mother  Agatha,  whom 
she  survived  nine  years,  and  whose  death  left  in  her  heart  a 
void  which  no  other  friendship  could  fill.  Her  own  death  in 
1913  was  the  fitting  crown  of  a  life  crowded  with  duties  nobly 
done.  On  the  evening  preceding  it,  Sister  Liguori,  seemingly 
in  the  best  of  health,  had  remarked  to  Reverend  Mother,  refer¬ 
ring  to  a  financial  statement,  “I  have  finished  my  account.  It 
is  ready  for  the  morning.”  She  failed  to  appear  in  the  chapel 
for  prayers  the  following  morning,  an  occurrence  so  unusual 
as  to  excite  alarm.  A  Sister  was  sent  immediately  to  her  room, 
but  finding  the  door  locked,  effected  an  entrance  through  a 
window  opening  on  a  balcony  of  the  inner  court.  Sister  Liguori 
lay  as  if  in  a  peaceful  sleep;  but  a  second  glance  sufficed  to  show 
that  the  sleep  was  one  which  wakes  only  in  the  light  of  an  eternal 
day.  On  her  desk  was  the  folded  report  of  her  earthly  steward¬ 
ship,  accurately  and  beautifully  prepared,  and  balanced  to  date. 

Under  the  influence  of  such  great  souls,  life  flowed  smoothly 
at  Carondelet,  where  each  day  brought  its  round  of  duties,  each 
summer  its  spiritual  retreats  and  teachers’  institutes  with  almost 
monotonous  regularity.  The  Congregation  was  steadily  increas¬ 
ing  in  numbers,  the  statistics  of  1875  showing  a  total  of  four 
hundred  and  fifty-three  members.  These  were  located  in  ten 
dioceses,  and  had  under  their  care  thirteen  thousand  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  twenty  children.  Many  of  the  children  were  in 


1 64  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

parochial  schools,  then  becoming  very  numerous  in  the  western 
dioceses.  Reverend  Mother  Agatha  was  a  strong  advocate  of 
the  parochial  schools,  and  especially  those  of  grammar  and 
elementary  grades,  which  she  considered  more  far-reaching  in 
their  effects  than  either  the  academy  or  high  school.  Among 
those  offered  for  her  acceptance,  she  frequently  chose  the  least 
promising  from  a  material  point  of  view,  and  was  often  heard 
to  remark  that  the  poor,  small  missions,  where  there  was  ap¬ 
parently  little  earthly  recompense,  were  more  fruitful  in  blessings 
for  the  Congregation  than  the  larger  and  more  prosperous  ones. 
During  her  first  six  years  of  office,  she  supplied  Sisters  for 
twelve  parish  schools  in  the  St.  Louis  Province  alone. 

Two  of  the  most  prosperous  of  these  were  St.  John’s  and  St. 
Patrick’s  in  St.  Louis.  Both  were  in  large  and  flourishing 
parishes.  Of  the  former,  Reverend  Patrick  J.  Ryan,  future 
Bishop  of  St.  Louis  and  Archbishop  of  Philadelphia,  and  Rev¬ 
erend  John  Joseph  Hennessey,  later  Bishop  of  Wichita,  were 
successively  pastors.  The  former,  after  his  elevation  to  the 
coadjutorship  of  St.  Louis,  remained  twelve  years  at  St.  John’s, 
the  pro-Cathedral ;  and  during  that  time,  his  interest  in  the  school 
was  unflagging.  In  the  midst  of  numerous  duties,  he  found 
time  for  frequent  visits  to  the  children,  among  whom  he  loved 
to  single  out  the  “flowers  of  the  flock,”  this  being  the  name  by 
which  he  designated  those  whose  auburn  locks  were  the  same 
hue  as  his  own.  With  the  lively  cooperation  of  its  pastors, 
St.  John’s  rose  to  first  rank  among  the  parish  schools,  and  was 
largely  attended,  as  was  also  St.  Patrick’s,  in  which  many  men 
and  women  prominent  in  business  and  social  life  received  their 
early  training. 

St.  Patrick’s,  the  first  Irish-American  parish  in  St.  Louis,  was 
organized  in  1843,  but  it  grew  slowly.  Its  magnificent  school 
was  not  completed  until  1873.  It  was  built  by  Reverend  Father 
Fox  at  an  outlay  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  a  considerable 
fortune  at  that  time  in  St.  Louis.  In  January,  1873,  just  before 
the  date  set  for  the  opening  of  school,  Father  Fox  fell  a  victim 


MOTHER  AGATHA  GUTHRIE  165 

to  pneumonia,  dying  after  a  brief  illness.  In  February,  the 
classes  were  organized  under  the  direction  of  his  successor, 
Reverend  Father  Archer.  The  Christian  Brothers  took  the 
larger  boys,  and  Sisters  Dominic  Fink,  Aloysius  Andres  and 
Elizabeth  Parrott,  the  girls.  The  number  of  Sisters  was  in¬ 
creased  the  following  month  by  Sisters  Cassilda  Mernaugh  and 
Theolinda  Kelly.  For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  these 
schools  prospered,  with  ever  increasing  numbers  of  teachers  and 
pupils,  until  their  character  was  materially  changed  by  the  en¬ 
croachment  on  parish  boundaries  of  the  business  and  commercial 
interests  of  the  city,  which  drove  out  old  residents  and  introduced 
a  large  foreign  element.  St.  Patrick’s  presents  at  present  the 
anomaly  of  registering  only  Italian  pupils,  and  the  parish  fur¬ 
nishes  a  rich  field  for  settlement  work. 

Other  St.  Louis  schools  provided  with  teachers  by  Reverend 
Mother  Agatha  at  this  time  were  St.  Nicholas’  in  1873,  St. 
Francis  Xavier’s  in  1875,  and  St.  Michael’s  in  1876.  To  Mobile, 
Alabama,  were  sent  in  the  fall  of  1873  ^ve  Sisters,  with  Sister 
Felicity  Mulligan  as  Superior,  to  open  St.  Patrick’s  Convent, 
which  was -dedicated  on  October  18  with  imposing  ceremonies 
and  an  eloquent  sermon  by  Very  Reverend  Canon  Moynihan  of 
New  Orleans.  In  the  same  year,  another  band  of  intrepid  mis¬ 
sionaries  set  out  by  a  difficult  overland  route  in  company  with 
Right  Reverend  J.  B.  Salpointe  for  Arizona;  and  at  Ste.  Gene¬ 
vieve,  Missouri,  in  1874,  a  free  elementary  school  for  boys  and 
girls  was  made  possible  by  the  munificence  of  Felix  Valle,  who 
furnished  an  endowment  for  that  purpose.  The  academy  es¬ 
tablished  there  in  1858  was  in  a  flourishing  condition,  a  large 
brick  structure  put  up  in  1867  having  replaced  the  earlier  frame 
building.  In  1894,  another  three  story  brick  school  was  erected 
by  the  parish  on  a  section  of  the  convent  property  leased  for 
that  purpose ;  and  the  elementary  and  high  school  departments 
removed  to  it  in  April  of  that  year  steadily  increased  in  numbers 
until  they  registered  four  hundred  students.  St.  Bridget’s 
School  in  Chicago  was  begun  in  1873,  and  the  Nativity,  now 


166  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

averaging  over  eleven  hundred  pupils,  in  1875.  the  same 
year,  the  first  hospital  in  the  St.  Louis  Province,  St.  Joseph’s  in 
Kansas  City,  was  built  and  equipped;  and  Florissant,  Missouri, 
and  Peru,  Illinois,  each  received  a  community  of  school  Sisters 
from  Carondelet.  In  1877,  parochial  schools  were  opened  in 
Central  City,  Colorado;  Sedalia,  Missouri;  and  Indianapolis, 
Indiana. 

The  inauguration  of  this  last  in  the  fall  of  1877  occurred  soon 
after  the  return  of  Reverend  Mother  Agatha  from  Rome,  whither 
she  had  gone  in  company  with  Mother  Saint  John,  as  mentioned 
in  a  preceding  chapter,  in  order  to  secure  the  final  approbation 
of  the  Constitutions.  Reverend  Mother  was  much  impressed  by 
her  audience  with  Pius  IX  and  the  signal  kindness  manifested  by 
him.  The  Eternal  City  was  to  her  a  world  of  attractions. 
“There  are  a  thousand  objects  of  interest  for  me  in  Rome,”  she 
wrote  from  there;  “even  the  mouldering  ruins  of  ancient  pagan 
times  have  wonderful  tales  to  tell.”  9  Her  visits  to  the  Colos¬ 
seum  and  the  Catacombs  increased  her  great  veneration  for  the 
martyrs,  whose  blood  had  darkened  the  arena,  and  whose  memory 
still  haunted  the  places  sanctified  by  their  sufferings  and  their 
holy  deaths. 

It  was  during  her  stay  in  Rome  that  she  endeavored  to  obtain 
relics  for  the  convent  in  Carondelet.  This  was  not  an  easy 
thing  to  do;  but  she  enlisted  the  help  of  Reverend  Pietro  Mar- 
chionni,  Apostolic  Missionary  and  Canon  of  the  Church  of  St. 
Agnes  in  Rome,  who  interested  himself  in  her  behalf.  He  was 
a  devout  client  of  St.  Joseph,  a  friend  of  the  Congregation,  and 
also  of  the  ancient  family  of  Savorelli  in  Forli,  Italy,  in  whose 
possession  was  a  rich  treasury  of  relics  taken  from  the  Cata¬ 
combs  in  the  first  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  by  order  of 
Pius  VII,  and  given  to  Count  Nicholas  Savorelli.  Of  this 
family  also  was  Mercurialis  Prati,  Bishop  of  Forli,  Domestic 
Prelate  to  Pius  VII  and  Assistant  at  the  Papal  Throne.  A  great 
portion  of  the  relics  passed  eventually  to  Count  Nicholas 

8  Letter  of  Rev .  Mother  Agatha,  Rome,  Apr.  20,  18 77. 


MOTHER  AGATHA  GUTHRIE 


167 


Savorelli  Prati,  from  whom  Father  Marchionni  obtained, 
after  much  pleading,  those  which  now  belong  to  the  Congre¬ 
gation. 

Nine  entire  bodies,  those  of  Saints  Nerusia  Euticia,  Vincent, 
Aurelius,  Theodora,  Irenaeus,  Liberatus,  and  three  child-martyrs, 
Discolius,  Berisimus  and  Berenice,  each  with  its  V as  Sanguinis , 
and  rudely  carved  slabs  from  the  Catacombs,  were  included  in 
what  Father  Marchionni  termed  the  “little  Paradise/’  transmitted 
by  him  across  the  water  early  in  1878,  as  “missionaries  of  the 
ancient  Faith,  to  preach  to  us  of  the  virtues  of  the  Crucified, 
exemplified  by  the  death  which  they  suffered  for  his  sake.’’  10 
The  most  interesting  of  these  is  Nerusia  Euticia,  taken  from  the 
cemetery  of  Saint  Calipodius  July  16,  1801.  It  is  clad  in  the 
ancient  Roman  costume  of  a  lady  of  high  rank,  a  tunic  of  cloth 
of  silver  worn  over  a  robe  of  gold  brocade  and  confined  by  a 
silver  girdle.  The  feet  are  encased  in  jeweled  sandals,  and  a 
jeweled  crown  adorns  the  head.  In  the  center  of  a  frame  filled 
with  small  relics  is  also  a  picture  in  oil  by  Michel  Angelo  de 
Caravaggio,  “The  Descent  from  the  Cross,”  a  prized  possession 
of  the  Savorellis  for  more  than  a  century  and  a  half.11  The 
relics,  with  the  exception  of  those  intended  for  the  provinces, 
were  placed  in  the  chapel  at  Carondelet  on  November  17,  1880, 
by  Right  Reverend  Patrick  J.  Ryan,  Coadjutor  of  St.  Louis, 
accompanied  by  a  large  concourse  of  the  clergy.  Great  pomp 
and  solemnity  attended  the  ceremony,  giving  it  the  character  of 
a  sacred  pageant  of  medieval  times,  and  making  the  day  a 
memorable  one  in  the  history  of  the  Mother  House.  On  gor¬ 
geous  crimson  catafalques  rich  with  gold  embroideries,  the 

10  sister  julia  littenecker,  Sketch  of  Our  Saints  and  Martyrs  (MS.)  p.  9. 
Carondelet  Archives. 

11  “I  the  undersigned,  declare  that  in  a  family  inventory  of  the  year  1721 
existing  in  the  archives  of  my  family,  the  painting  representing  the  descent 
from  the  Cross  which  is  enclosed  in  a  frame  of  relics  was  declared  to  be  the 
work  of  Michel  Angelo  de  Caravaggio,  and  as  such  has  always  been  recog¬ 
nized  not  only  in  successive  inventories,  but  by  connoisseurs  in  art.  Nicholas 
Savorelli  Prati,  Forli,  Mar.  20,  1884.”  Copy  of  Document  in  French  and 
Italian  given  to  Rev.  Mother  Agatha  under  the  seal  of  the  Savorelli  family. 


1 68  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

sainted  remains  were  borne  in  long  procession,  with  lighted  tapers 
and  amid  the  chanting  of  litanies,  to  their  chapel  shrine.12 

To  each  of  the  Provincial  Houses,  Reverend  Mother  sent 
relics  from  her  precious  store,  those  of  Saint  Irenaeus  to  St. 
Paul,  Saint  Theodora  to  Troy,  and  Saint  Liberatus  to  Tuscon. 
The  body  of  the  little  Saint  Discolius  she  reserved  for  Nazareth 
Retreat.  This,  in  the  country  five  miles  from  Carondelet,  was 
for  eight  years,  from  1872  to  1880,  the  place  of  the  novitiate. 
In  the  center  of  a  sixty-acre  farm  and  surrounded  by  fine  trees, 
a  plain  but  roomy  brick  convent  was  erected,  to  which  the  novices 
with  their  teachers  and  mistress,  Mother  Saint  John,  removed 
in  the  summer  of  1872.  The  first  Mass  was  celebrated  there 
June  21  by  Reverend  J.  M.  I.  St.  Cyr,  for  ten  years  chaplain  at 
Carondelet,  and  now  sent  by  Archbishop  Kenrick  in  a  similar 
capacity  to  Nazareth.  Father  St.  Cyr  remained  at  Nazareth 
until  his  death  in  1883,  the  spiritual  guide  of  the  novices,  to 
whom  he  gave  daily  instructions  full  of  wisdom  and  unction. 
He  was  an  omnivorous  reader,  and  until  the  loss  of  his  sight 
in  1876,  spent  hours  with  his  books,  giving  considerable  time 
also  to  out  door  pursuits.  He  took  great  pride  and  pleasure 
in  beautifying  the  grounds,  planted  the  trees  in  the  little  cemetery 
when  it  was  portioned  off  in  1874,  and  set  out  the  vineyard  which 
he  tended  carefully. 

12  A  feast  in  honor  of  the  Martyrs,  to  be  celebrated  each  year  on  November 
17  at  the  Mother  House,  was  granted  by  special  indult  of  Leo  XIII,  March 
12,  1881.  By  another  indult  of  November  28,  1899,  this  was  transferred  to 
June  2 1,  anniversary  of  the  translation  of  the  relics  to  the  new  chapel,  dedi¬ 
cated  that  year.  Documents  in  Carondelet  Archives.  When  in  1882,  doubts 
were  raised  regarding  the  authenticity  of  some  relics  transported  from  Italy 
to  other  parts  of  Christendom,  copies  of  the  documents  in  the  Carondelet 
archives,  signed  and  sealed  by  Rt.  Rev.  P.  J.  Ryan,  were  transmitted  by  him 
to  Rome,  where  they  were  verified  by  comparison  with  duplicates  kept  in 
the  Archives  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Relics.  They  were  returned  in 
May,  1883,  with  a  Brief  of  Leo  XIII,  granting,  on  account  of  the  Holy 
Martyrs,  six  plenary  indulgences  to  be  gained,  with  the  usual  conditions, 
by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  on  six  different  days  each  year;  viz,  January  29, 
May  16,  September  19,  October  4,  October  15,  and  November  17. 


NAZARETH  RETREAT 


CEMETERY  AT  NAZARETH  RETREAT 

(Monument  of  Father  St.  Cyr  in  left  foreground.) 


MOTHER  AGATHA  GUTHRIE  169 

It  was  while  working  among  his  vines  on  July  17,  1876,  that 
he  became  suddenly  blind,  and  was  led  to  his  small  study  near  the 
chapel,  where  many  quiet  hours  of  his  had  passed.  Care  and 
medical  skill  alike  failed  to  restore  the  lost  vision;  but  the  seven 
years  of  life  that  remained  to  him  were  useful  and  happy  ones. 
The  Franciscan  Fathers,  appointed  chaplains  at  the  Mother 
House  in  1875,  came  as  assistant  chaplains  to  Nazareth,  and 
celebrated  Mass  and  Benediction;  but  Father  St.  Cyr  continued 
his  instructions  to  the  novices,  infusing  into  his  words  day  by 
day  a  deeper  spirituality,  and  impressing  on  the  minds  of  his 
young  hearers  the  importance  of  that  higher  knowledge  which 
alone  gives  value  to  the  things  of  life.  Each  day  a  Sister  read 
to  him  from  his  favorite  books  and  magazines,  or  wrote  at  his 
dictation.  “Our  spiritual  reading  first, ”  was  the  injunction  with 
which  the  literary  portion  of  his  day  began ;  and  his  hand  sought 
the  selected  volume,  always  in  its  accustomed  place  within  his 
reach.  He  had  many  visitors,  old  friends  to  spend  a  social  hour; 
and  others  interested  in  historical  knowledge,  to  whom  he  loved 
to  relate  his  reminiscences  of  early  days. 

His  genial  humor,  the  source  of  many  a  pleasant  episode  en¬ 
joyed  by  young  and  old,  never  deserted  him;  and  his  natural 
cheerfulness  and  patience,  his  resignation  to  all  the  dispositions 
of  Providence,  lightened  his  affliction.  The  virtues  which  he 
was  now  called  upon  to  practice  he  had  recommended  to  the 
Sisters  many  years  before  in  a  New  Year’s  letter,  which  also 
illustrates  the  simplicity  of  the  noted  missionary : 

I  wish  you,  beloved  Sisters,  besides  many  happy  years,  a  true  love 
of  all  the  virtues  of  your  holy  state,  Christian  patience  and  resigna¬ 
tion  to  God’s  will  in  trials  and  adversities,  the  persevering  courage 
necessary  to  fulfill  the  office  which  Mary  and  Joseph  so  cheerfully 
and  lovingly  fulfilled  during  our  Lord’s  infancy.  Our  Lord  is, 
as  it  were,  in  a  state  of  infancy  in  our  midst.  We  must  take  care 
of  him,  wait  on  him,  accompany  him.  Such  is  the  rich  legacy  which 
Mary  and  Joseph  have  left  you  as  their  daughters  and  successors 


170  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

in  office.  This  honorable  office,  cordially  and  faithfully  accom¬ 
plished,  will  be  the  channel  through  which  the  choicest  blessings 
that  can  make  a  whole  year  happy  will  come  to  you.13 

His  death  occurred  after  a  month’s  illness,  February  21,  1883, 
shortly  before  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  ordination.  This 
was  what  he  had  wished,  to  die  before  the  exercises  of  a  golden 
jubilee  celebration  could  bring  him  undesired  notice.  “I  want 
to  go  to  Heaven,”  were  his  last  words,  addressed  to  Sister  Feb- 
ronia  Boyer,  who,  seeing  him  very  restless,  asked  if  there  was 
anything  he  desired.  He  had  made  continual  inquiries  during 
his  illness  about  the  weather,  expressing  the  fear  that  the  in¬ 
clement  season  would  prove  injurious  to  the  Sisters  if  they  fol¬ 
lowed  his  remains  to  the  graveyard.  The  spring  thaw  set  in 
early,  and  the  roads  leading  to  Nazareth  were  almost  impassable, 
yet  his  funeral  was  largely  attended.  Very  Reverend  Henry 
Muehlsiepen,  Vicar-General  of  St.  Louis,  celebrated  the  solemn 
Mass  of  Requiem,  assisted  by  Reverend  Charles  Ziegler  as  deacon, 
Reverend  M.  O’Reilly  as  subdeacon,  and  Reverend  Innocent 
Wapelhorst,  Franciscan,  Master  of  Ceremonies.  Right  Rev¬ 
erend  Patrick  J.  Ryan  delivered  the  funeral  sermon,  an  eloquent 
eulogy  on  the  virtues  of  the  deceased  priest,  his  peaceful  and 
harmonious  life,  his  conformity  to  the  will  of  God,  and  his 
desire  to  be  hidden  in  Him  who  was  his  light  in  darkness  when 
the  light  of  earth  went  out.  Six  priests  bore  the  coffin  to  the 
cemetery,  while  the  accompanying  clergy  14  chanted  the  Miserere;, 
and  at  the  foot  of  the  great  stone  crucifix,  under  the  larch  trees 
which  he  had  planted,  Father  St.  Cyr  was  laid  to  rest. 

The  early  years  at  Nazareth  were  by  no  means  years  of 
opulence.  Spiritual  riches  there  were  in  abundance,  but  ma¬ 
terial  conveniences  were  few.  A  farm  or  garden  cared  for  with 
the  least  possible  outlay  was  then  a  necessity;  and  the  hours  out 

13  Letter  of  Father  St.  Cyr,  Jan.  1,  1864. 

14  Among  those  present  were  Very  Rev.  Chancellor  Vandersanden,  Fathers 
Head,  Donohue,  Poepe,  Goller,  Jerome,  O.F.M.,  Bonacum,  P.  F.  O’Reilly 
and  Daly,  The  last  named,  by  his  own  request,  is  also  buried  at  Nazareth. 


MOTHER  AGATHA  GUTHRIE 


171 


of  class  were  often  spent  by  the  novices  with  watering  can  or 
pruning  knife  contributing  their  share  to  the  upkeep  of  the  small 
estate ;  or  gathering  from  the  corn  fields  the  fresh  clean  shucks 
that  made  their  beds.  One  of  their  number  was  delegated  to 
teach  the  children  of  the  neighboring  farmers,  assembling  them 
daily  in  a  small  house  on  the  convent  grounds.  The  recreation 
hours  the  novices  loved  to  spend  with  Sister  Felicite  Boute,  who 
passed  the  last  years  of  her  beautiful  life  at  Nazareth.  In  the 
pioneer  days  at  Carondelet,  Sister  Felicite  was  infirmarian;  and 
the  academy  girls  remembered  long  the  love  and  kindness  with 
which  she  was  accustomed  to  soothe  away  their  ailments  or  dry 
the  tears  which  fell  when  their  lonesome  hearts  were  yearning 
for  home.  “No  one  was  ever  rude  in  the  presence  of  that  tall, 
sweet  Sister,”  wrote  one  of  her  girls  in  1840  ;  “We  seldom  heard 
her  laugh,  but  her  smile  was  contagious.”  15  She  always  re¬ 
tained  her  spirit  of  cheerful  gayety.  In  fact,  it  was  her  laughter 
that  became  contagious  at  Nazareth;  and  so  loud  were  the  sounds 
of  merriment  issuing  at  times  from  the  recreation  room,  that 
Mother  Saint  John  would  slip  gently  in  to  ascertain  the  cause 
of  the  turmoil. 

For  twenty-five  years,  Sister  Felicite  had  been  stationed  in 
St.  Louis,  where,  as  Superior  of  St.  Joseph’s  Orphan  Asylum, 
she  was  a  tender  mother  to  the  numerous  children  who  came 
under  her  care.  The  Sisters  and  others  to  whom  her  good  works 
were  known  loved  to  reckon  her  among  the  uncanonized  saints; 
and  the  former,  after  her  death,  September  23,  1881,  made  fre¬ 
quent  pilgrimages  to  her  grave.  Up  the  hill  to  the  little  cemetery, 
Sister  Ephrem  Berard,  bent  for  years  under  a  grievous  malady, 
toiled  painfully  for  nine  days,  to  kneel  at  Sister  Felicite’s  grave 
begging  for  health  through  the  intercession  of  the  friend  whom 
she  had  loved  in  life;  and  on  the  ninth,  walked  home  straight 
and  lithe,  to  resume  her  former  duties,  strengthened  in  body,  and 
happy  in  the  consciousness  that  God  was  so  very  near. 

A  series  of  rainy  seasons  and  the  poor  drainage  of  the  country 

16  ELIZA  MCKENNY  BROUILLET,  Memoirs,  p.  46. 


172  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

about  Nazareth,  where  swampy  depressions,  attributed  to  the 
earthquake  of  1812,  persisted  in  remaining,  bred  fevers;  and  in 
1880,  Reverend  Mother  Agatha  brought  the  novices  back  to^ 
Carondelet,  where  she  erected  a  new  wing  to  the  building  in 
1883. 

The  academy  there  had  grown  rapidly,  and  attained  great 
prominence  and  popularity  under  the  direction  of  Sister  William 
McDonald,  who  for  thirteen  years,  from  1873  to  1886,  devoted 
her  versatile  talents  towards  maintaining  a  high  standard  for  the 
institution.  For  several  years  Sister  William  had  been  a  pupil 
of  the  academy,  leaving  her  Alma  Mater  to  enter  the  novitiate 
in  1861  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  On  the  completion  of  her  novitiate 
in  1863,  she  was  with  the  first  band  of  Sisters  sent  to  Peoria, 
Illinois.  Young  as  she  was  in  years,  she  gave  evidence  at  once 
of  ability  in  the  class  room,  besides  being  an  excellent  musician; 
and  she  eagerly  seized  every  opportunity  of  rendering  herself 
more  capable.  As  a  teacher  and  directress,  she  was  rigid  in 
maintaining  discipline ;  but  possessed  in  a  more  than  ordinary 
degree  the  gift  of  discerning  and  developing  the  best  traits  of 
her  pupils,  instilling  into  them  a  love  for  study  and  a  desire  to 
attain  the  best  in  intellectual  and  artistic  pursuits. 

While  a  well  planned  curriculum  was  followed,  much  attention 
was  given  to  the  study  of  literature  by  Sister  William  and  by 
her  immediate  successors,  Sister  Teresa  Louise  and  Sister  Sacred 
Heart  Hall,  both  gifted  with  literary  ability;  and  a  printing  press, 
set  up  and  operated  in  the  convent,  turned  out  monthly  copies 
of  St.  Joseph's  Journal,  edited  by  the  pupils,  who  were  interest¬ 
ing  contributors  to  its  pages.  Under  the  tutelage  of  Matthew 
Hastings,  a  well  known  St.  Louis  artist,  and  the  fostering  care  of 
Reverend  Mother  Agatha,  an  art  critic  of  unerring  taste  and 
judgment,  was  developed  among  teachers  and  pupils  the  skill  in 
art  which  became  a  heritage  in  the  Congregation,  and  filled  the 
studios  with  choice  productions  of  pencil  and  brush.  A  gifted 
teacher  trained  during  this  period,  but  snatched  away  all  too 
early  from  the  scene  of  her  labors,  was  Sister  Baptista  Barry, 


MOTHER  AGATHA  GUTHRIE 


173 


sister  of  Reverend  Michael  Barry,  for  nearly  fifty  years  a  dis¬ 
tinguished  churchman  in  the  Diocese  of  Syracuse,  New  York. 
Sister  Baptista  was  Reverend  Mother’s  private  secretary  at  the 
time  of  her  death,  which  occurred  on  Christmas  morning  1877, 
and  was  universally  lamented. 

A  welcome  visitor  and  art  lecturer  at  Saint  Joseph’s  in  the 
eighties  was  Eliza  Allen  Starr,  whose  love  for  celebrated  shrines 
led  her  to  the  Martyrs’  Chapel  in  Carondelet.  She  summed  up 
her  first  impressions  of  the  convent  follows : 

When  our  train  for  Carondelet  left  us  at  the  station,  the  mysterious 
charm  which  belongs  to  a  strange  road  in  the  night  time  came  upon 
us.  The  electric  lights  with  their  obtrusive  glare  had  been  left 
behind,  and  by  the  yellow  flame  of  gas  jets  we  ascended  a  stony  road, 
as  we  thought  between  high  banks  until  we  came  to  what  looked 
as  if  it  had  come  from  some  land  beyond  the  sea — an  ideal  convent! 
A  few  steps  brought  us  to  the  upper  terrace,  and  even  in  the  late 
evening,  we  could  see  the  slender  willow  branches  in  full  leaf  waving 
in  the  night  wind.  It  was  delightfully  mysterious  to  know  that  there 
was  a  landscape  beyond,  and  even  the  great  Father  of  Waters,  yet 
to  see  nothing.  Sister  guided  us  to  the  steps,  a  door  opened,  a 
familiar  habit,  even  if  not  a  familiar  face,  greeted  us ;  and  still 
another,  no  less  than  the  benignant  face  of  Reverend  Mother  herself, 
and  we  were  at  St.  Joseph’s.  When  the  convent  guest  room  received 
us,  and  the  peace  of  a  religious  house  fell  upon  soul  and  sense, 
“Unlike  all  places  in  the  world,”  we  said,  “wherever  this  religious 
house  may  be.”  The  morning  showed  us  the  hollow  square  on 
which  the  medieval  convent  is  built,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  square 
on  a  high  column  our  own  St.  Joseph  !  On  three  sides  ran  the  open 
galleries,  and  on  the  fourth,  a  closed  loggia  with  its  windows.  St. 
Joseph’s  back  was  towards  us,  but  this  was  because  he  was  looking, 
as  he  should,  towards  the  chapel  and  the  lord  of  the  chapel.16 

Her  interest  in  the  chapel  centered  in  the  relics,  reminiscent 
of  the  catacombs  and  shrines  of  Rome;  and  the  vesper  service 
evoked  her  enthusiasm.  “Cecilian  music  at  Vespers !  Cecilian 

16  Eliza  allen  starr  in  St.  Joseph's  Journal,  1888,  vol.  Ill,  p.  2. 


i74  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

music  never  goes  alone  into  any  chapel.  With  it  go  meditation, 
and  the  relish  for  heavenly  things. ”  17 

When  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  American  foundation 
was  celebrated  in  1886,  the  relish  for  heavenly  things  had 
attracted  to  the  Congregation  a  total  of  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  professed  members,  and  one  hundred  and  three  novices. 
The  commemorative  exercises  at  the  Mother  House  in  the  week 
of  March  25  were  mainly  religious,  a  solemn  triduum,  Masses 
and  Benedictions.  A  musical  and  literary  programme,  allegor¬ 
ical  in  character,  given  by  the  students,  portrayed  the  chief  events 
of  the  five  decades.  Congratulations  and  good  wishes  received 
from  friends  throughout  the  country  gave  evidence  of  the  abun¬ 
dant  harvest  produced  in  fifty  years  by  the  pioneers  of  1836. 
With  the  exception  of  Sister  Febronie  Chapellon,  who  was  still 
living  in  France,  Sister  Saint  Protais  was  the  only  one  left  of 
that  courageous  band.  She  was  then  in  her  seventy-third  year, 
and  in  response  to  Reverend  Mother’s  summons,  came  from 
Baraga,  Michigan,  to  participate  in  the  celebration.  The  central 
figure  of  the  joyous  occasion,  she  took  a  child’s  delight  in  the 
festivities  that  recalled  scenes  and  events  of  which  she  had  been 
so  great  a  part. 

A  pleasing  incident  of  her  visit  was  the  meeting  with  one, 
who,  as  a  poor  and  neglected  Protestant  orphan  boy,  had  been 
the  recipient  of  her  kindness  thirty  years  before  in  Wheeling; 
and  as  a  prosperous  business  man  of  a  large  eastern  city,  came 
to  St.  Louis  to  make  grateful  acknowledgment  to  his  benefactress, 
and  to  give  an  account  of  his  successful  life  as  the  head  of  a 
practical  Catholic  family.  Dear  to  Sister  Saint  Protais  as  was 
the  place  of  her  first  abode  in  America,  she  pleaded  to  return 
to  her  obscure  Indian  mission  among  the  pines.  Her  request 
was  granted,  and  her  remaining  years  were  spent  at  Baraga.18 

17  Ibid.,  p.  8. 

18  Two  of  the  pioneer  Sisters  died  in  France,  Mother  Febronie  Fontbonne 
and  Sister  Febronie  Chapellon.  The  former,  after  a  stroke  of  paralysis  suf¬ 
fered  in  the  fall  of  1880,  was  an  invalid  for  six  months,  until  her  death 
at  Changy  on  Palm  Sunday,  April  10,  1881.  She  was  seventy-five  years  of 


TOWER  AND  COURT,  MOTHER  HOUSE 


MOTHER  AGATHA  GUTHRIE 


175 


As  the  Congregation  grew  in  numbers,  ever  increasing  de¬ 
mands  for  Sisters  were  made  on  Reverend  Mother,  many  of 
which  she  supplied,  sending  colonies  in  1880  to  orphan  asylums 
in  Kansas  City  and  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  and  a  hospital  in 
Georgetown,  Colorado.  These  missions  were  followed  in  the 
next  decade  by  the  opening  of  schools  in  Wisconsin,  Colorado, 
Michigan,  Illinois  and  Missouri.  In  the  last  named  state  were 
commenced  six,  three  of  which  were  in  St.  Louis  :  St.  Anthony’s 
in  1883,  St.  Teresa’s  and  the  Holy  Name  in  1886,  all  in  flourish¬ 
ing  parishes,  where  parents  and  zealous  pastors  co-operated  with 
the  Sisters  in  building  up  large  and  successful  institutions. 

The  growth  of  St.  Anthony’s  was  remarkably  rapid.  Com¬ 
menced  in  September,  1883,  in  a  two  room  building  with  two 
teachers,  Sisters  Wilhemina  Dekin  and  Lazarine  Muettinger,  who 
drove  each  day  from  Carondelet,  it  registered  the  following  fall 
one  hundred  and  fifty  pupils.  A  new  school  built  in  1889  by 
Reverend  Innocent  Wapelhorst,  the  distinguished  Franciscan 
liturgist,  who  was  then  pastor,  accommodated  four  hundred  and 
fifty  students;  and  was  enlarged  by  successive  additions  which 
increased  it  to  its  present  capacity  of  eight  hundred  girls  and 
boys,  the  higher  classes  of  the  latter  being  taught  by  the  Brothers 
of  Mary.  Sister  Aloysius  Andres,  appointed  Superior  at  St. 
Anthony’s  in  1884,  directed  the  work  of  the  Sisters  there  for 
twenty-seven  years ;  and  to  her  efforts,  more  than  to  any  other 
single  factor,  is  due  the  reputation  of  the  school  for  thoroughness 
and  efficiency. 

Many  of  the  parochial  schools,  in  St.  Louis  were  in  adjoining 
parishes,  each  with  its  small  community;  and  Reverend  Mother 
Agatha,  having  in  mind  the  greater  spiritual  and  educational 
advantages  of  the  large  group,  established  in  1885  a  central  house, 
to  which  the  teachers  from  four  schools  removed  in  the  summer 

age,  sixty-one  of  which  she  had  spent  in  religion.  The  particulars  of  her 
death  were  written  to  Carondelet  by  Sister  Febronie,  who  had  lived  with  her 
for  forty-nine  years.  Sister  Febronie  also  died  at  Changy,  January  3,  1890. 
The  death  of  Mother  Saint  John  Fournier,  companion  of  Mother  Celestine, 
occurred  at  Philadelphia,  Oct.  15,  1875. 


ij6  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

of  that  year,  and  where  they  were  joined  in  the  two  following 
years  by  those  from  three  others.  On  August  24,  1885,  the  new 
convent  was  blessed  by  Very  Reverend  Philip  Brady,  Vicar- 
General  of  St.  Louis,  and  placed  under  the  patronage  of  Our 
Lady  of  Good  Counsel.  Sister  Adele  Hennessey  was  appointed 
Superior  of  this  house,  where,  as  directress  of  schools,  she  was 
brought  into  closer  touch  than  before  with  the  work  of  the 
teachers  and  summer  institutes. 

At  the  Convent  of  Our  Lady  of  Good  Counsel  was  held  in 
1894,  the  first  teachers’  institute  in  St.  Louis  participated  in  by 
Sisters  of  various  orders  from  the  city  and  surrounding  places. 
It  was  conducted  by  lay  teachers,  and  on  this  account  evoked 
criticism  from  Catholic  editors  and  others  who  looked  with  dis¬ 
favor  on  the  experiment.  Its  good  results  were  manifested, 
however,  in  the  greater  confidence  which  the  Sisters  felt  in  their 
own  methods,  and  the  readiness  with  which  they  adopted  and 
assimilated  whatever  they  found  better  in  those  of  others. 

In  1884,  there  had  been  published  by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph 
for  their  own  use  the  School  Manual ,  explained  in  ite  introduction 
as  '‘not  so  much  a  new  method  as  a  compilation  of  the  best 
methods  already  in  use  by  our  Sisters.”  The  old  French  manual, 
adapted  in  translation  to  the  needs  of  American  schools,  had 
served  an  excellent  purpose  in  the  training  of  young  teachers. 
It  had  gradually  given  place  to  other  methods,  formulated  in 
teachers’  meetings  and  institutes.  When  the  need  of  a  printed 
manual  in  the  hands  of  each  teacher  became  imperative,  a  com¬ 
mittee  of  the  most  experienced  teachers  in  the  Congregation  was 
appointed  to  prepare  a  course  of  study  for  both  elementary  and 
high  school  grades.  Chief  among  these  Sisters  were  Sister  Adele 
Hennessey,  Sister  Celestine  Howard,  directress  of  schools  in  the 
St.  Paul  Province,  Sister  Gertrude  Conway,  and  Sister  Teresa 
Louise  Crowley. 

After  a  prolonged  study  of  conditions  and  of  the  best  methods 
and  courses  in  use  throughout  the  country,  they  completed  in  1883 
the  manual  published  the  following  year,  which  proved  of  in- 


MOTHER  AGATHA  GUTHRIE 


1 77 


valuable  assistance  to  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph,  and  was  in 
general  use  among  them  until  the  appearance  in  1905  of  the 
diocesan  course  for  the  parochial  schools  of  the  St.  Louis  Arch¬ 
diocese.  In  the  preparation  of  the  manual,  as  stated  in  the  intro¬ 
duction, 

The  best  features  in  each  teacher’s  way  of  conducting  school 
exercises  were  carefully  examined  and  compared  before  being  pre¬ 
sented  for  general  use.  ...  It  was  considered  that  to  restrict  the 
teachers  to  particular  ways  of  conducting  different  studies  would  be 
to  close  the  door  to  future  improvements,  as  new  ideas  and  sugges¬ 
tions  on  these  subjects  are  constantly  appearing.  What  is  to  be 
desired  in  our  schools  is  uniformity  in  movement,  while  giving 
variety  in  instruction.19 

The  book  is  divided  into  three  parts,  the  first  devoted  to  the 
general  plan  of  the  schools,  the  classification  of  pupils  and 
regulations  for  school  and  classroom  management.  The  second 
part  contains  the  general  course  of  study  for  the  grades  and 
four  years  of  high  school  work,  with  suggestions  as  to  the  best 
method  of  teaching  each  graded  subject;  and  includes  a  very 
complete  course  for  the  first  eight  years  in  nature  study  and  the 
elements  of  science.  In  the  third  part  are  found  general  remarks 
on  health  and  sanitation,  the  proper  arrangement  of  school  build¬ 
ings,  the  collection  of  teachers’  libraries,  and  the  keeping  of 
records.  The  whole  is  comprised  in  a  volume  of  eighty-two 
pages,  and  has  received  many  encomiums  from  competent  teachers 
outside  the  Congregation. 

To  the  schools  in  St.  Louis  already  mentioned  in  charge  of 
the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  were  added  St.  Leo’s  in  1893,  the  Holy 
Rosary  in  1900,  St.  Ann’s  in  1901,  and  All  Saints  and  St. 
Matthew’s  in  1902.  Of  St.  Leo’s  the  pastor  was  Reverend 
J.  J.  Harty,  later  Archbishop  of  Manila,  whose  tireless  exertions 
in  behalf  of  Catholic  education  gave  to  his  school  an  enviable 
prestige. 

19  School  Manual  for  the  Use  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  p.  I.  St.  Louis, 
1884. 


178  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

In  the  long  history  of  the  St.  Louis  parish  schools,  crowded 
in  most  instances  to  their  full  capacity,  and  drawing  pupils  from 
congested  business  districts  as  well  as  from  beautiful  residential 
sections,  but  one  disaster  is  recorded,  the  partial  destruction  by 
fire  of  St.  Lawrence’s  on  February  2,  1900,  and  the  resulting 
death  of  Sister  Stanislaus  Mahoney.  In  her  music  room  on  the 
third  floor,  the  young  Sister,  engaged  in  giving  a  lesson  to  Mary 
Foley,  nine  years  old,  evidently  remained  oblivious  to  what  was 
happening,  while  all  the  others  were  quietly  passing  from  the 
building.  When  her  absence  was  discovered,  every  approach  to 
the  music  room  through  the  corridors  was  cut  off.  Brave  firemen 
entered  from  outside,  and  groping  through  the  smoke  filled  rooms, 
found  the  unconscious  Sister,  her  little  pupil  clasped  in  her  arms, 
a  crucifix  which  she  had  snatched  from  the  wall  above  her  piano 
pressed  to  her  breast.  Reverently  the  two  were  passed  out  the 
window  of  the  burning  school,  and  borne  through  the  silent 
throng  of  breathless  children,  women  in  tears,  and  men  with 
bared  heads,  to  the  nearby  hospital  of  the  Franciscan  Sisters, 
where  three  physicians  endeavored  in  vain  to  restore  them  to 
consciousness.  Sister  Stanislaus  was  the  first  to  succumb,  and 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  later,  Mary  Foley  followed  her  into  eternity. 
Archbishop  Kain  appeared  early  on  the  scene  of  the  tragedy, 
with  sympathy  for  the  sorrowing  companions  of  Sister  Stanislaus 
and  words  of  consolation  for  the  heart-broken  mother  of  her 
pupil.  Many  of  the  city  schools  were  closed  through  respect 
the  following  day,  and  hundreds  of  school  children  tip-toed  up 
the  long  aisle  of  the  convent  chapel  where  Sister  lay,  cold  in 
death;  while  other  hundreds  brought  flowers  to  the  bereaved 
home  of  little  Mary  Foley.  “Sister  Stanislaus  and  Companion, 
Martyrs,”  was  the  caption  of  an  editorial  in  the  Western  Watch¬ 
man  of  February  9,  a  touching  tribute  to  teacher  and  pupil,  dead 
at  their  post  of  duty. 

The  parochial  school  system  of  St.  Louis  was  reorganized 
during  the  episcopacy  of  Most  Reverend  John  J.  Kain,  who  came 


■ 


f 

' 


PETER  RICHARD  KENRICK 
FIRST  ARCHBISHOP  OF  ST.  LOUIS 

1806-1895 


MOTHER  AGATHA  GUTHRIE 


179 

in  1893  as  Coadjutor  to  the  venerable  Archbishop  Kenrick.  He 
had  scarcely  entered  upon  his  duties,  when,  in  March  1896, 
Archbishop  Kenrick  was  called  to  his  eternal  rest.  In  the  death 
of  this  great  churchman,  the  Congregation  of  St.  Joseph  mourned 
a  friend  whose  interest  in  its  welfare  had  extended  through  more 
than  half  a  century.  When  in  1841  he  came  to  his  western  see 
as  Bishop  Rosati’s  coadjutor,  he  found  in  Carondelet  a  small 
community  of  twelve  Sisters  with  one  girls’  academy,  a  village 
school,  and  a  few  deaf-mutes.  At  the  golden  jubilee  of  his 
consecration  in  1891,  hundreds  of  boys  and  girls  taught  by  the 
Carondelet  Sisters  in  St.  Louis  alone,  were  among  the  five 
thousand  school  children  who  paid  him  homage  in  the  exercises 
at  the  Colosseum  in  honor  of  the  event.  An  address  given  in 
expressive  pantomime  by  a  large  class  of  children  from  the 
Deaf-Mute  Institute,  and  referred  to  by  Archbishop  Ryan,  the 
orator  of  the  occasion,  as  a  tribute  of  silence,  was  the  only 
number  of  the  elaborate  programme  which  elicited  any  expression 
of  emotion  from  the  distinguished  jubilarian.  He  had  always 
been  solicitous  for  these  afflicted  children.  The  prelate  of  Phila¬ 
delphia,  also,  on  the  rare  occasions  which  brought  him  to  St. 
Louis,  manifested  his  interest  by  visits  to  the  Institute.  His 
sympathy  for  the  silent  boys  and  girls  did  not  hinder  his  ready 
flow  of  wit.  “A  deaf  and  dumb  Ryan!  Impossible!”  was  his 
exclamation  in  feigned  astonishment  and  with  tragic  gesture, 
when,  on  one  occasion,  a  small  boy  of  his  own  name  was  among 
the  pupils  presented  to  him. 

In  May  1896,  new  councillors  were  elected  in  the  persons  of 
Sister  Herman  Joseph  O’Gorman  and  Sister  Agnes  Gonzaga 
Ryan,  a  woman  of  unusual  ability,  and  intended  in  the 
Providence  of  God  to  succeed  Reverend  Mother  Agatha  as 
Superior-General.  The  former  replaced  Mother  St.  John  Face- 
maz,  who,  during  the  last  five  years  of  her  long  life,  until  her 
death  October  30,  1900,  was  tried  by  suffering,  and  gave  a 
glorious  example  to  the  Congregation  of  patience,  humility  and 


i8o  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

fortitude.  Like  her  predecessor  in  the  Council,  Sister  Herman 
Joseph  belonged  to  that  class  of  noble  souls  who  find  no  sacrifice 
too  great  that  they  can  make  for  God. 

She  was  born  in  Oswego,  New  York,  of  Irish  parentage, 
March  17,  1846,  and  after  four  years  spent  there  in  the  Sisters’ 
school,  entered  the  novitiate  in  Carondelet  in  1862,  receiving  the 
habit  on  December  8  of  that  year.  The  eldest  in  a  family  of 
five  girls,  she  was  followed  eventually  by  her  four  sisters,  all 
of  whom  became  members  of  the  Carondelet  community.  She 
held  many  prominent  positions  in  the  Congregation ;  and  as 
teacher  in  the  class  room  or  superior  of  large  houses,  was  always 
animated  by  the  same  high  sense  of  honor  which  shrank  from 
the  very  shadow  of  an  untruth,  and  held  as  a  sacred  trust  the 
confidence  of  even  the  smallest  child.  Honest  and  straight¬ 
forward,  and  in  the  highest  degree  humble  and  obedient,  she 
required  or  expected  of  others  nothing  that  she  did  not  do  her¬ 
self,  setting  always  the  example  of  zeal,  charity  and  devotion 
to  duty.  She  was  a  close  student  of  books,  applying  herself 
to  serious  subjects ;  and  she  encouraged  the  Sisters  to  continual 
efforts  at  self-improvement  along  some  chosen  line,  ranking  intel¬ 
lectual  culture  as  a  help  to  spiritual  advancement.  Her  reverence 
in  the  presence  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  was  an  inspiration  to 
those  privileged  to  witness  it ;  and  her  influence  as  a  councillor 
was  always  exerted  towards  strict  observance  and  great  vigilance 
in  the  admission  of  subjects  to  the  Congregation. 

In  the  early  nineties  Sister  Winifred  Sullivan,  after  years 
spent  on  the  missions,  became  again  a  member  of  the  household 
at  Carondelet,  where  the  large  museum  was  her  special  charge. 
From  far  and  near,  she  gathered  objects  of  historical  interest  and 
value,  and  rare  products  of  nature,  which  she  used  as  a  means 
of  impressing  on  the  minds  of  others  the  beauty  and  the  wisdom 
of  God  as  manifested  in  His  works.  In  the  library,  Sister  Mary 
Charles  Brennan  presided  for  a  quarter  of  a  century ;  and  with 
infinite  patience  and  a  fund  of  erudition,  directed  eager  readers 
along  pleasant  paths  of  literature,  or  over  the  stony  road  of  dry 


MOTHER  AGATHA  GUTHRIE 


181 


research.  Under  improved  conditions  and  with  greater  accom¬ 
modations,  Nazareth  was  now  a  home  for  the  aged  or  infirm 
Sisters,  many  of  whom,  grown  old  in  the  service  of  the  Master, 
returned  from  the  missions  to  rest  in  the  quiet  retreat.  The 
circles  of  mounds  increasing  year  by  year  in  the  hill-side  grave¬ 
yard  marked  the  passing  of  lives  rich  in  merit  and  good  works, 
their  example  and  the  story  of  their  deeds  an  inspiration  to 
others  following  in  their  footsteps. 

A  lesson  in  the  science  of  the  saints  is  a  visit  to  this  portion 
of  God’s  acre,  dedicated  to  so  many  lowly,  hidden  souls,  unknown 
in  life  except  to  those  who  came  in  closest  contact  with  them. 
Sister  Peter  Richard  Kelly,  bent  from  early  morning  until  late 
at  night  in  the  performance  of  humble  duties,  like  Martha  busy 
about  many  things,  her  every  step  offered  as  a  prayer;  Sister 
Barbara  Keon,  whose  life-long  wish  was  granted  of  dying  in 
the  Sacramental  Presence;  Sister  Cecilia  Rosteing — Madame 
Cecile,  the  Sisters  called  her — trained  to  graceful  manners  in 
her  aristocratic  home  in  France,  picking  her  steps  daintily  for 
years  in  Carondelet’s  alley  ways  to  bring  help  or  cheer  to  the 
poor  and  sick:  these  and  scores  of  others  rest  under  the  cedar 
trees  at  Nazareth,  worthy  daughters  of  Mother  Celestine,  their 
graves  grouped  about  her  own  earthly  resting  place,20  a  name 
the  only  legend  on  each  small  headstone. 

On  this  hallowed  place  the  hand  of  God  was  laid  in  blessing 
in  1901,  when,  in  answer  to  fervent  prayers,  occurred  on  March 
19  of  that  year,  the  sudden  cure  of  Sister  Laura  Kuhn.  For 
eighteen  years  Sister  Laura  was  a  constant  sufferer  from  a 
malady  that  baffled  medical  skill.  During  the  greater  part  of 
that  time,  her  only  sustenance  wras  liquid  food.  Malignant  can¬ 
cer  of  the  stomach  finally  developed,  which  became  external, 
causing  untold  suffering.  It  was  pronounced  incurable  by  three 
physicians ;  and  the  invalid,  several  times  prepared  for  death, 

20  The  remains  of  Mother  Celestine,  Sister  Mary  Joseph  Dillon  and  other 
Sisters  buried  at  Carondelet  were  removed  to  the  Nazareth  cemetery  shortly 
after  it  was  laid  out  in  1874. 


1 82  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

still  lived  on  in  agonies  of  pain.  So  intense  did  this  become, 
that  she  began  a  novena  of  Communions  in  honor  of  St.  Joseph 
before  his  feast  in  1901,  begging  for  a  cure  or  a  happy  death,  ' 
according  to  God’s  will.  With  great  difficulty  on  the  morning 
of  St.  Joseph’s  day,  the  sufferer  reached  the  chapel,  a  few  steps 
from  her  room.  Returning  after  Communion,  she  fell  into  the 
first  restful  sleep  that  she  had  known  for  years.  The  Sisters, 
surprised  at  finding  her  so,  left  her  undisturbed.  She  awoke 
free  from  pain.  Realizing  fully  that  her  prayer  of  faith  had 
been  answered,  she  hastened  to  the  chapel,  and  on  her  knees 
before  the  altar,  burst  into  tears.  “I  had  begged  to  be  relieved 
of  my  cross,”  she  said  to  the  writer  in  the  summer  of  1918; 
“and  fearing  lest  I  had  not  done  well,  I  asked  God  to  give  it 
back  to  me,  if  my  bearing  it  to  the  end  would  please  him  better.” 

On  examination,  the  great  wound  was  found  to  be  perfectly 
healed,  deep  scars  being  the  only  evidence  that  it  had  ever  existed ; 
and  the  linen  wrappings  were  dry  and  fresh.  Doctor  Samuel 
J.  Will,  a  non-Catholic  physician  under  whose  care  Sister  Laura 
had  been  for  two  years,  gave  his  written  testimony  to  the  re¬ 
markable  cure,  an  account  of  which  appearing  in  the  public  press 
attracted  nation-wide  attention.  Sister  Laura’s  deposition  was 
taken  by  the  Archbishop  of  St.  Louis,  Most  Reverend  John  J. 
Kain,  in  the  presence  of  the  Reverend  Chancellor  and  other 
witnesses ;  and  an  official  statement  prepared  and  signed  by  them 
attested  the  miraculous  nature  of  the  occurrence. 

The  little  room  in  which  St.  Joseph’s  power  was  so  marvel¬ 
lously  felt  was  converted  into  an  oratory  in  remembrance  of  an 
event  which  sent  a  thrill  of  awe  through  the  entire  Congregation. 
The  Brothers  of  the  Holy  Cross  at  Notre  Dame,  Indiana,  through 
Venerable  Brother  Paul,  who  was  a  guest  at  Nazareth  in  the 
spring  of  1901,  begged  the  privilege  of  preparing  the  shrine, 
placing  in  it  an  altar  made  by  their  own  hands  as  an  offering 
to  the  saint  who  is  never  invoked  in  vain. 


CHAPTER  XII 


ON  THE  MISSION  FIELD.  DEATH  OF  REVEREND  MOTHER 

AGATHA  GUTHRIE  (1904) 

In  the  decade  between  1870  and  1880,  the  South  was  several 
times  swept  by  yellow  fever,  which  decimated  the  population  of 
large  cities,  and  paralyzed  the  activities  of  whole  sections  of 
the  country.  In  1873,  the  fever  made  its  first  appearance  in 
Memphis ;  and  in  the  early  fall  of  1874,  Florida  was  in  the 
grasp  of  the  plague. 

At  St.  Joseph’s  Convent  in  Warrington,  Florida,  during  the 
summer  were  Sister  Alexandrine  Erkolum,  Sister  Odilia  Dunn 
and  Sister  Anna  Teresa  Burke.  They  were  joined  late  in  August 
by  Sister  Clotilda  Kennedy,  a  delicate  young  Sister  who  was 
sent  south  on  account  of  the  mild  climate.  After  spending  part 
of  the  summer  vacation  at  St.  Patrick’s  Convent  in  Mobile,  she 
arrived  at  Warrington  just  before  the  outbreak  of  the  pestilence. 
The  school  term  had  hardly  begun,  when  the  Sisters,  closing 
their  half-emptied  class  rooms,  assumed  the  role  of  nurses,  going 
from  house  to  house  wherever  there  was  need  of  their  ministra¬ 
tions. 

On  September  20,  Sister  Alexandrine  wrote  to  St.  Louis : 
“Pray,  and  send  word  to  my  parents  to  pray  and  have  Masses 
said  that  we  may  be  spared  to  take  care  of  the  sick  and  dying.”  1 
The  following  day,  Sister  Alexandrine,  Sister  Anna  Teresa  and 
Sister  Clotilda  were  seized  with  the  dreaded  symptoms ;  and  for 
eight  days  they  bore  without  a  murmur  the  intense  suffering 
which  their  remaining  companion,  Sister  Odilia,  strove  heroically 
to  alleviate. 

On  the  morning  of  September  29,  there  came  from  a  convent 
of  Dominican  nuns  in  Pensacola,  across  the  little  bay  from  War- 

1  Written  into  Community  Records  of  1874. 

183 


1 84  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

rington,  Sister  Mary  Pius,  a  member  of  the  small  community 
there,  risking  her  own  life  to  be  of  help  to  Sister  Odilia  and 
her  stricken  Sisters.  The  latter  were  beyond  hope  of  recovery, 
and  at  half-past  five  that  bright  autumn  afternoon  Sister  Alex¬ 
andrine  breathed  her  last.  At  half-past  six,  Sister  Clotilda  died; 
and  at  eight  o’clock,  Sister  Teresa  followed  her  two  companions 
into  eternity.  Sister  Mary  Pius  kept  a  lonely  night  vigil  with 
Sister  Odilia,  and  at  five  o’clock  the  following  morning,  with  the 
pastor  of  Warrington  and  a  large  number  of  his  fearless  flock, 
the  two  Sisters  followed  the  remains  to  their  burial.  Sister 
Odilia  then  went  to  Pensacola,  where,  after  a  light  attack  of  the 
fever,  from  which  she  was  nursed  back  to  health  by  the  Domin¬ 
ican  Sisters,  she  awaited  in  Mobile  the  arrival  from  the  Mother 
House  of  Mother  Julia  Littenecker  and  Sister  Theodora 
McCormack,  sent  by  Reverend  Mother  to  investigate  conditions 
on  the  desolated  mission. 

Human  prudence  urged  the  closing  of  the  convent  and  school; 
but  in  deference  to  the  wishes  of  both  pastor  and  people  of 
Warrington  and  the  pleading  of  brave  Sister  Odilia,  she  was 
allowed  to  return  in  January  1875,  three  other  Sisters  being 
sent  from  Carondelet  to  accompany  her.  One  of  these  was 
Sister  Evangelista  Meehan,  a  successful  and  accomplished  music 
teacher,  who  had  formed  one  of  the  original  colony  sent  to 
Albany,  New  York,  in  1861.  She  survived  but  one  year  in  the 
tropical  climate,  dying  February  18,  1876.  Her  funeral  was 
attended  by  the  entire  congregation  of  Warrington,  and  by  the 
officers  of  a  fleet  of  United  States  warships,  then  anchored  in 
Pensacola  Bay.  Sister  Odilia’s  death  occurred  two  months 
later;  and  Reverend  Mother  Agatha,  not  wishing  to  sacrifice 
other  lives  in  a  fever-infected  region,  withdrew  the  Sisters  at 
the  close  of  the  school  term  in  1876,  to  the  sorrow  of  the  people 
of  Warrington,  who  showed  their  grateful  remembrance  in  the 
care  which  they  continued  to  lavish  on  five  well-kept  graves. 
Pensacola  was  soon  after  abandoned  by  the  Dominican  Sisters, 


ON  THE  MISSION  FIELD 


185 

whose  friendship  was  one  of  the  prized  memories  retained  by 
the  survivors  of  the  southern  mission.  “Our  interests  were 
common ;  whatever  one  community  needed,  the  other  was  ready 
to  give,”  wrote,  many  years  after,  Sister  Mary  Pius,2  her  asser¬ 
tion  proved  by  her  own  devotion  in  facing  pestilence  to  help 
her  suffering  neighbors. 

In  Memphis,  an  outbreak  of  cholera  during  June  and  July 
of  1873  was  followed  in  September  of  the  same  year  by  yellow 
fever,  which  during  the  eighty  days  of  its  continuance,  claimed 
sixteen  hundred  victims.3  Eight  hundred  of  these  were  from 
one  of  the  four  parishes  of  the  city,  St.  Bridget’s,  of  which 
Reverend  Martin  Walsh  was  pastor.4  At  St.  Patrick’s  Academy 
in  an  adjoining  parish,  Sister  Leonie  Martin  was  Superior;  and 
after  an  attack  of  fever  from  which  she  recovered,  she  assisted 
Sisters  Clarissa  Walsh,  Immaculate  Donohue,  Antoinette  Ogg, 
and  De  Sales  Morissey  in  caring  for  the  sick  and  dying  until 
the  yellow  visitant  was  put  to  flight  by  a  heavy  frost  in  the 
middle  of  November. 

Memphis  had  hardly  recovered  from  the  staggering  effects  of 
this  calamity,  when  in  1878  the  pestilence  broke  out  afresh  with 
greater  violence  than  before.  “If  the  fever  of  1873  was  a  plague, 
that  of  1878  was  a  veritable  scourge,”  wrote  one  eye-witness  5 
of  the  terrible  scenes  that  accompanied  both  visitations.  Within 
a  few  weeks  after  the  appearance  of  fever  in  the  summer  of 
1878,  the  city  was  transformed  into  one  vast  charnel  place, 
where  a  thousand0  yellow  flags  floated  over  the  homes  of  the 
stricken  ones,  and  the  odor  of  burning  tar  and  other  disinfectants 
filled  the  air.  During  the  first  three  days  after  the  announcement 

2  November  2,  1919,  from  St.  Catherine’s,  Kentucky. 

3  Among  these  were  five  priests  and  twenty  Sisters,  rev.  d.  a.  quinn. 
Heroes  and  Heroines  of  Memphis,  p.  54.  Providence  R.  I.,  1887. 

4  quinn,  op.  cit.,  p.  54.  Father  Walsh  was  a  victim  the  following  year,  his 
death  occurring  August  29,  1878. 

6  quinn,  op.  cit.,  p.  126. 

6  By  the  middle  of  August  the  deaths  numbered  958.  quinn,  op.  cit., 
p.  130. 


1 86  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

of  the  epidemic  by  the  Board  of  Health,  thirty  thousand  people 
fled  from  the  city.7  “I  well  remember  the  panic  that  almost 
crazed  the  populace  the  morning  it  was  first  announced,”  wrote. 
Father  Quinn ;  “men,  women,  and  children  in  wagons,  street  cars, 
and  carriages,  all  dashing  through  the  streets  on  the  way  to  the 
various  railway  depots  and  steamboat  landings.”  8  From  fifteen 
to  twenty  coaches,  usually  drawn  by  three  locomotives,  made  up 
each  passenger  train  that  left  the  city. 

There  were  three  Sisters  at  St.  Patrick’s  at  the  time,  the 
others  having  gone  to  St.  Louis  for  the  annual  retreat.  These 
three,  Sisters  Clarissa,  Lydia  Bulger  and  Irene  Halter,  were 
occupied  for  three  weeks  in  assisting  Father  William  Walsh, 
of  St.  Bridget’s  parish,  to  send  out  appeals  to  the  benevolent 
societies  of  the  United  States  for  help  in  establishing,  three  and 
one-half  miles  from  the  city  on  Fontaine  Farm,  Camp  Father 
Matthew,  to  which,  taught  by  the  fearful  lesson  of  1873,  he 
removed  with  his  four  hundred  parishioners. 

By  the  end  of  August,  the  fever  had  spread  to  St,  Patrick’s, 
iwhere  the  pastor,  Very  Reverend  Martin  Riordan,  Vicar-General, 
and  his  assistant,  Father  Patrick  McNamara,  were  among  the 
earliest  victims,  the  latter  dying  on  September  3.  On  the  same 
day,  Sister  Irene,  a  young  Sister  in  her  twenty-second  year, 
who  had  feared  the  fever  very  much,  but  offered  to  remain  when 
Reverend  Mother  gave  her  the  option  of  returning  to  St.  Louis, 
was  stricken  with  the  dread  disease,  received  the  last  Sacraments, 
and,  in  a  trance-like  condition,  heard  herself  pronounced  dead.9 
Her  name  was  registered  on  the  official  list  for  burial  on  Sep¬ 
tember  4;  but  she  had  rallied  before  then  and  she  soon  recovered. 
Sister  Irene  had  come  to  America  in  her  childhood  from  Switzer¬ 
land;  and  though  small  and  slight,  had  the  strong  constitution 
and  the  will  to  conquer  difficulties  characteristic  of  the  people 
of  her  native  mountains.  In  a  short  time  she  was  again  at 

7  Ibid.,  p.  130. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  130. 

9  sister  irene  halter.  Account  of  the  Memphis  Epidemic,  in  Community 
Archives. 


ON  THE  MISSION  FIELD 


187 

work  among  the  suffering  with  her  companions,  who  were  joined 
in  the  meantime  by  Sister  Leonie  and  Sister  Antoinette.  These 
had  been  hurriedly  sent  South  as  volunteers,  when  conditions 
there  were  reported  at  the  Mother  House. 

During  the  epidemic  of  the  following  summer,  scarcely  less 
violent  than  that  of  1878,  Sisters  Clarissa,  Antoinette  and  Irene, 
veteran  nurses  by  that  time  and  apparently  immune  wherever 
there  was  yellow  fever,  volunteered  for  Camp  Father  Matthew, 
where  Father  Walsh  had  renewed  his  experiment  of  the  preceding 
year.  On  a  two  hundred  acre  farm,  in  the  midst  of  which  was 
a  boiling  spring,  the  camp  was  located.  Tents  secured  from  the 
War  Department  were  so  arranged  as  to  form  streets,  which  were 
named  after  the  Sacred  Heart,  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  the  Saints, 
and  which  led  to  a  tiny  chapel  enclosed  on  three  sides,  where 
daily  Mass  was  heard  by  all,  kneeling  under  the  open  sky  in 
view  of  the  altar  of  the  Sacred  Heart.  Contributions  from 
Catholic  societies  throughout  the  United  States  poured  into  the 
camp,  which  had  its  commissary  department  and  corps  of  officers, 
and  where  strict  quarantine  regulations  were  observed.  No  one 
left  the  grounds  except  the  priests  on  their  visitation  of  the  sick 
and  dying,  and  those  whom  duty  or  errands  of  mercy  called  to 
the  city. 

The  three  Sisters  who  had  volunteered  for  this  place  left  St. 
Louis  August  1,  after  the  summer  retreat.  They  were  obliged 
to  travel  on  a  freight  train,  as  no  passenger  trains  were  allowed 
to  enter  Memphis.  Arrived  at  the  camp,  they  were  assigned 
their  duties.  Sister  Irene  gathered  the  children  in  an  improvised 
school  room,  and  for  two  hours  daily  taught  them  Catechism 
and  the  hymns  and  litanies  which  were  sung  in  the  evening  pro¬ 
cessions  through  the  streets  of  the  tented  village.  Sisters  Antoi¬ 
nette  and  Clarissa  drove  each  morning  to  the  city,  where  the 
death  rate  was  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  a  day.  They  dis¬ 
tributed  food  and  medicine  to  the  sick  and  prepared  the  dying 
for  the  reception  of  the  Sacraments.  The  Angel  of  Mercy  and 
the  Angel  of  Comfort  they  were  respectively  designated  by  a 


1 88  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

grateful  people,  among  whom  they  met  with  but  one  instance 
where  their  visit  was  not  wholly  welcome. 

A  father,  mother  and  little  boy  lay  dying  in  a  home  marked 
with  the  yellow  signal.  From  the  Sisters  when  they  entered, 
the  two  former  turned  away,  refusing  all  proffered  help;  but  the 
child  stretched  out  weak  arms  to  the  strange  visitors.  He  recog¬ 
nized  the  image  on  the  crucifix  which  Sister  showed  him,  and 
to  her  inquiry,  “Would  you  like  to  go  to  Him?”  he  answered 
with  unconscious  wisdom:  “Yes,  but  I  do  not  know  the  way.” 
Calling  for  a  glass  of  water,  which  was  brought  her  by  the 
Howard  nurse  10  in  charge,  Sister  poured  the  saving  drops  on 
his  fevered  head;  and  child  and  parents  passed  into  eternity. 
But  one  death  occurred  at  the  camp  that  summer,  where  Sister 
Irene,  when  free  from  the  class  room  duties,  spent  her  time 
among  the  sick.  It  was  that  of  a  boy  of  eighteen,  whom  the 
Sisters,  returning  one  evening  from  the  city,  overtook  by  the 
road  side.  Bent  on  adventure,  he  had  walked  from  his  home 
in  Winona,  Minnesota;  and,  sick  and  weary,  was  easily  persuaded 
by  the  Sisters  to  accompany  them  to  Camp  Father  Matthew. 
In  his  pockets  were  found  affectionate  letters  from  his  mother, 
who  was  duly  informed  of  his  happy  death. 

It  was  years  before  Memphis  recovered  from  the  disastrous 
effects  of  these  epidemics,  which  had  threatened  the  existence  of 
the  Nashville  diocese,11'  depriving  it  of  twenty-two  priests  and 
hundreds  of  prominent  Catholics.  The  immediate  prospects  of 
St.  Patrick’s  Academy  were  ruined,  and  the  future  gave  small 
promise  of  success  at  least  for  years  to  come.  Under  the  cir¬ 
cumstances,  Reverend  Mother,  in  the  fall  of  1879,  reluctantly 
called  home  the  Sisters  for  an  indefinite  period.  On  November 
10,  1879,  Bishop  Feehan,  expressing  to  her  his  regret  that  the 
unhappy  condition  of  Memphis  rendered  such  a  step  necessary 
wrote : 

10  The  Howard  Association  was  a  benevolent  society  organized  in  1873, 
which  provided  nurses  and  received  aid  from  Masonic  fraternities,  quinn, 
op.  cit.,  p.  hi. 

11  quinn,  op.  cit.,  p.  52. 


ON  THE  MISSION  FIELD 


a  O  /V 

1 09 

I  feel  under  very  great  obligations  to  you  and  your  good  Sisters 
for  all  the  good  that  they  have  done  in  Memphis,  and  especially  for 
their  heroic  devotion  during  the  yellow  fever.  Their  spirit  of  sacri¬ 
fice  will,  I  am  sure  obtain  for  them  and  their  communities  many 
and  great  blessings.12 

The  Ave  Maria  of  January  21,  1902,  announcing  the  death 
of  Father  William  Walsh,  recalled  the  incident  of  Camp  Father 
Matthew  and  the  devoted  pastor’s 

splendid  courage,  which  at  a  single  stroke  tore  away  the  veil  of 
prejudice  from  the  public  eye  in  that  sunny  Southland  where  the 
Church  has  been  so  backward  and  prejudice  so  forward. 

Of  the  Sisters  who  were  Father  Walsh’s  right-hand  helpers,  “as 
fearless  and  zealous  as  himself,”  it  said: 

The  heroism  of  these  noble  spirits  arrested  the  admiring  attention 
of  the  whole  country ;  and  so  vivid  is  the  remembrance  of  it  even 
now  that  we  are  assured  Memphis  is  the  least  salubrious  climate 
in  the  world  for  those  who  utter  calumnies  against  priests  and 
Sisters. 

The  fruit  of  the  Sisters’  heroism  and  of  the  sacrifices  made 
by  the  Congregation  during  the  whole  of  the  dreadful  period 
was  reaped  within  the  next  two  decades  through  increased  ac¬ 
tivities  in  other  places,  especially  in  the  North  and  West.  In 
Mobile,  also,  where  the  yellow  scourge  had  spread  gloom  and 
desolation,  and  of  two  Sisters  stricken  with  the  plague,  Sister 
Agnes  Rossiter  and  Sister  Aurelia  Catherine  Cashin,  the  latter 
laid  down  her  young  life  in  sacrifice  October  22,  1878,  three 
schools  were  added  to  the  one  begun  in  1873 ;  namely,  the  Cathe¬ 
dral  school  for  boys,  and  two  where  children  of  mixed  white  and 
negro  blood — Creoles,  the  Alabamans  call  them — could  be  given 
an  elementary  education.  This  class  had  always  evoked  Reverend 
Mother’s  interest;  and  examples  brought  to  her  attention  of  their 

12  Bishop  Feehan  to  Mother  Agatha ,  Nov.  10,  1879.  On  September  10,  1880, 
Bishop  Feehan  was  promoted  to  the  Archbishopric  of  Chicago. 


190  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

ignorance  of  God,  revealed  in  their  replies  to  questioning,  aroused 
her  sympathy. 

Typical  of  a  hundred  others  was  the  small  waif,  called  by  the 
Sisters  from  her  sport  of  chasing  butterflies  and  told  about  her 
creation  and  the  object  of  her  existence.  In  wide-eyed  wonder, 
she  mused  aloud  after  each  bit  of  information :  “I  never  knew 
I  was  made  for  anything.  Nobody  ever  told  me  that.”  More 
open-minded  was  the  little  maid  than  her  dusky  brother,  whose 
agility  saved  him  from  an  avalanche  of  logs  brought  down  by 
his  own  awkwardness  in  dislodging  one;  and  whose  terror  gave 
place  to  contempt  for  the  supposed  ignorance  of  his  questioner, 
when  a  Sister  asked  him,  not  clearly  perhaps,  but  with  interested 
curiosity  as  to  his  mental  attitude  toward  a  future  life  :  ‘'Where 
would  you  be  now  if  you  had  not  jumped  aside?”  With  literal 
truth  as  he  saw  it,  and  in  a  tone  of  finality,  the  answer  came, 
“Under  the  woodpile,  of  course.”  Efforts  at  spiritual  enlighten¬ 
ment  were  useless  there. 

Such  incidents  were  to  Reverend  Mother  so  many  tragedies  of 
darkened  souls  to  which  the  light  had  never  penetrated ;  and  she 
gladly  gave  a  portion  of  the  convent  property  in  1896  on  which 
to  build  a  school,  supplying  teachers  for  the  same,  as  well  as 
for  one  opened  by  the  Bishop  in  the  Cathedral  parish.  These 
were  later  merged  into  one,  which,  though  numerically  small, 
has  been  productive  of  incalculable  good.  The  eagerness  of  the 
Creole  mind  for  knowledge  is  exemplified  in  one  old  grandmother, 
who  sat  daily  on  the  benches  among  the  children  until  she  had 
learned  to  read  and  write.  No  other  community  name  is  so 
closely  associated  with  the  schools  of  Mobile  as  that  of  Sister 
Scholastica  Sullivan,  who  through  years  of  labor,  won  an  un¬ 
dying  place  in  the  warm  hearts  of  the  Mobilians  by  her  winning 
personality  and  genial  ways. 

In  Indianapolis,  the  Sacred  Heart  School,  in  the  German 
parish  of  the  Franciscan  Fathers,  prospered  steadily.  It  was 
established  in  September  1877,  when  eighty-five  pupils  were  en¬ 
rolled  in  two  class  rooms  on  the  first  floor  of  a  three  story  build- 


ON  THE  MISSION  FIELD 


191 

ing  which  the  Fathers  had  erected  for  church,  school  and  mon¬ 
astery  combined.  The  Sisters,  four  in  number,  resided  until  the 
following  year  in  a  cottage  placed  at  their  disposal  by  a  devout 
widow  of  the  parish,  Mrs.  Frances  Frommhold,  who,  after 
giving  all  she  had  to  church  and  school,  entered  the  novitiate  in 
Troy  in  February  1878,  receiving  the  name  of  Sister  Clarissa. 
In  June,  1878,  an  additional  piece  of  property  was  purchased 
by  the  Sisters  for  a  girls’  school.  This  property,  which  is  now 
in  the  heart  of  the  city,  was  then  surrounded  by  meadow  lands 
and  cornfields.  The  blessing  on  October  4  of  the  convent  and 
school  erected  on  this  site  was  the  first  official  act  of  Right 
Reverend  Francis  Silas  Chatard  as  Bishop  of  Vincennes,  to 
which  diocese  Indianapolis  then  belonged.  One  hundred  and 
fifty  pupils,  exclusive  of  the  large  boys,  who  were  left  in  care 
of  the  Franciscan  Brothers,  were  removed  to  the  new  school, 
enlarged  in  1885  to  accommodate  twice  that  number.  Ten  years 
later,  another  large  building,  erected  by  the  parish  for  the 
boys,  received  its  quota  of  Sister  teachers;  and  a  splendid 
eight-room  high  school,  completed  in  1914,  is  the  latest  edition 
to  the  group.  For  thirty  years,  Sister  Lidwina  Littenecker, 
appointed  Superior  in  1880,  directed  the  work  of  these  rapidly 
growing  schools,  which  average  over  seven  hundred  pupils,  and 
which  have  trained  scores  of  efficient  men  and  women  for  the 
commercial  and  social  world,  and  furnished  an  incredibly  large 
number  of  vocations  to  the  priesthood  and  the  religious  orders. 

The  main  factor  in  the  foundation  of  St.  Joseph’s  Orphan 
Home  for  Girls  in  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  was  the  pioneer  pastor, 
Reverend  Bernard  Donnelly,  who,  after  securing  from  Reverend 
Mother  a  promise  of  Sisters  to  care  for  the  orphans,  purchased 
a  ten-acre  tract  of  woodland  south  of  the  city,  and  began  the 
erection  of  a  building,  the  corner  stone  of  which  he  laid  on 
May  4,  1879.  Prominent  among  the  first  band  of  Sisters  who 
assisted  at  the  opening  Mass  on  January  15,  1880,  were  Sisters 
Delphine  Bray  and  Alicia  McCusker,  whose  long  lives  were 
identified  with  charitable  work.  Many  inconveniences  were  ex- 


1 92  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

perienced  in  the  beginning.  The  home  was  in  the  midst  of  a 
forest  outside  the  city  limits,  was  poorly  equipped,  and  entirely 
dependent  on  voluntary  subscriptions,  which  the  Sisters  were 
obliged  to  solicit  in  the  city.  The  earliest  benefactor  was  a 
prominent  Kansas  Cityan,  Major  Blake  L.  Woodson,  who  pro¬ 
vided  dormitory  furnishings  to  replace  the  children’s  first  cots, 
improvised  out  of  store  boxes. 

“The  Sisters  will  not  be  left  alone  in  their  efforts  to  befriend 
these  children,”  said  the  founder,  on  the  occasion  of  his  last  visit 
to  the  asylum  a  few  weeks  before  his  death  on  December  14,  1880. 
“Good,  kind  people  will  perfect  the  work  which  I,  in  my  humble 
way,  began.”  13  So  it  proved.  Benefactors  were  not  wanting; 
and  on  the  coming  of  Bishop  Hogan  to  Kansas  City  in  1886, 
diocesan  funds  were  appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  Home,  partly 
relieving  the  Sisters  of  the  burden  of  support.  The  annual 
picnic  given  for  years  under  the  auspices  of  the  Orphan  Asso¬ 
ciation  was  another  welcome  source  of  income,  until  the  sub¬ 
stitution  of  yearly  collections  in  the  diocese.  The  rapid  growth 
of  the  city  southward,  and  the  opening  of  picturesque  Penn 
Valley  Park  and  Park  Drive,  fronting  the  Home,  enhanced  the 
value  of  the  property,  and  added  beauty  to  the  surroundings. 
With  numerous  improvements  and  additions,  notably  the  erection 
of  a  large  chapel  in  1895,  the  gift  of  Thomas  Corrigan  and 
family,  the  capacity  and  usefulness  of  the  institution  was  in¬ 
creased  ;  and  under  the  direction  of  Sister  Brigid  Callahan  for 
thirty  years,  hundreds  of  young  girls  were  trained  to  fill  useful 
positions  in  life.  In  February,  1921,  the  home  was  almost 
completely  destroyed  by  fire.  The  Sweeney  estate  with  its  ac¬ 
commodations  was  immediately  turned  over  by  the  owner  to  the 
Sisters  and  children  for  an  indefinite  period ;  and  there  rallied 
to  the  help  of  the  institution  many  generous  friends,  foremost 
among  whom  was  Right  Reverend  Thomas  F.  Lillis,  Bishop  of 
Kansas  City,  with  whose  encouragement  and  under  whose  direc¬ 
tion  the  building  quickly  rose  again.  Since  1913,  the  school 

13  The  Orphan  Girls’  Annual,  p.  9.  Kansas  City  1909* 


ON  THE  MISSION  FIELD 


i93 


maintained  at  the  Home  is  in  the  unique  position  of  belonging 
to  the  City's  system  of  public  schools,  supervised  by  the  Board 
of  Education. 

To  the  initiative  of  Bishop  Hogan  was  due  the  establishment 
of  St.  Mary’s  Orphanage  for  boys  in  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  on 
a  tract  donated  by  John  Corby  for  a  cemetery,  and  known  as 
Corby  Place.  Five  Sisters  from  Carondelet  took  charge  in 
April  1880  of  thirty-three  orphan  boys,  housed  in  a  frame  build¬ 
ing  which  had  previously  been  occupied  by  the  Alexian  Brothers. 
Three  years  later,  the  boys  were  removed  to  a  well-cultivated 
farm  of  forty  acres,  given  to  the  Sisters  by  Francis  Brown, 
a  prominent  and  benevolent  Catholic  of  St.  Joseph,  who  also 
aided  generously  in  the  erection  of  the  buildings.  For  twenty- 
five  years,  the  Sisters  maintained  this  place,  until  the  orphan 
boys  of  the  diocese  were  removed  to  the  Perry  Home  in  Kansas 
City. 

The  number  of  missions  in  western  Missouri  was  increased 
by  the  opening  in  Kansas  City  of  St.  Patrick’s  School  and  the 
German  School  of  Sts.  Peter  and  Paul  in  1882;  Our  Lady  of 
Perpetual  Help  in  the  Redemptorist  parish  of  that  name,  in 
1884;  St.  John's  in  1887;  and  St.  Patrick’s  in  St.  Joseph,  Mis¬ 
souri,  begun  in  1892,  with  an  average  attendance  of  three  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  pupils.  One  of  the  most  successful  of  these  is 
Our  Lady  of  Perpetual  Help,  commenced  in  a  two  room  frame 
building  on  a  corner  of  the  extensive  grounds  then  belonging 
to  the  Redemptorist  College,  and  intended  to  benefit  the  children 
of  a  few  scattered  families  living  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city. 
Two  Sisters  residing  at  the  Orphans’  Home  walked  every  day 
over  the  country  roads,  which  their  most  vivid  imaginings  prob¬ 
ably  never  converted  into  the  broad  thoroughfares  on  which  are 
located  the  large  church,  school  and  convent  buildings  of  today. 
The  high  school  and  commercial  departments  are  important  ad¬ 
juncts,  fitting  the  young  people  of  the  parish  for  college  and 
for  business  life. 

The  first  mission  of  the  Congregation  in  the  diocese  of  Green 


i94  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Bay  was  in  Shawano,  Wisconsin,  to  which  Reverend  Mother 
sent  a  small  community  in  October  1881,  at  the  request  of 
Reverend  Vincent  Halbfus,  Provincial  of  the  Franciscan  Fathers 
of  St.  Louis.  These  Fathers  were  also  in  charge  of  the  Cath¬ 
olic  Indians  on  the  Menominee  Reservation  at  Keshena.  In 
September  1883,  five  Sisters  were  delegated  for  the  Industrial 
School  established  at  Keshena  by  Reverend  Zephyrin  Engelhardt, 
then  in  Wisconsin.  There  was  a  government  agency  at  the 
reservation,  and  a  day  school  was  maintained  for  the  children 
of  the  Menominees,  a  branch  of  the  Algonquin  tribe.  In  1880, 
this  was  converted  into  a  boarding  school.  The  Fathers  of  the 
mission,  opposed  by  the  agent  in  their  efforts  to  instruct  the 
Catholic  children,  built  their  own  school,  which  was  opened  on 
November  21,  1883,  in  charge  of  Sister  Clarissa  Walsh. 

Twice  the  school  was  destroyed  by  fire,  the  first  time  on 
February  22,  1884,  only  three  months  after  the  opening.  New 
buildings  were  erected  each  time;  and  the  appointment  of  a 
Catholic  agent  in  1885  facilitated  the  working  of  the  school, 
which  prospered  in  the  face  of  great  financial  difficulties.  Several 
buildings  are  required  for  the  present  activities  of  the  school, 
and  besides  the  Fathers  and  Brothers,  ten  Sisters  are  engaged 
in  caring  for  two  hundred  and  thirty-seven  boys  and  girls.  The 
skill  of  the  children  in  the  vocational  arts  was  recognized  in  the 
medal  awards  of  the  World’s  Columbian  Exposition  of  1893, 
and  their  work  was  awarded  second  place  at  the  diocesan  exhibit 
at  Green  Bay  in  the  same  year.  Much  attention  was  attracted 
to  the  ingenuity  and  practical  turn  of  mind  evidenced  by  the 
boys  in  their  construction  of  a  miniature  steam  engine  working 
a  circular  saw,  a  facsimile  of  one  used  on  the  reservation.  For 
twenty  years,  from  1886  to  1906,  a  hospital  for  Menominees  was 
supported  at  the  reservation  out  of  their  tribal  funds. 

On  March  25,  1887,  a  colony  of  seven  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph 
from  France  came  to  the  French  parish  of  Oconto  in  Wisconsin 
on  the  invitation  of  its  pastor,  who  had  built  a  convent  and 
school.  They  received  an  enthusiastic  welcome  from  his  con- 


ON  THE  MISSION  FIELD 


195 


gregation  on  their  arrival,  and  were  met  at  the  convent  by 
Mother  Saint  John  Facemaz,  who,  with  Sister  Herman  Joseph 
O’Gorman,  was  sent  by  Reverend  Mother  Agatha  to  initiate  the 
French  Sisters  in  American  ways.  Sister  Herman  Joseph  re¬ 
mained  as  English  teacher  to  the  community  in  Oconto  for  two 
years.  In  1889,  this  community,  consisting  of  five  professed 
Sisters,  two  novices  and  two  postulants,  were  affiliated  to  the 
Mother  House  at  Carondelet,  which  then  assumed  the  respons¬ 
ibility  of  their  school.  St.  Joseph’s  School  in  West  De  Pere 
was  added  to  the  list  of  Wisconsin  missions  in  1893;  and  at  the 
same  time  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  inaugurated  their  long- 
years  of  successful  work  in  Green  Bay. 

“From  Green  Bay,  Missouri  received  her  first  initiation  in 
the  mysteries  of  faith,”  writes  the  historian  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  Wisconsin,  referring  to  the  expedition  of  Marquette, 
which  began  in  the  Fox  River  and  ended  in  the  Illinois  Country, 
and  he  mentions  as  a  return  of  that  meritorious  deed  “Missouri’s 
gift  to  Green  Bay  of  its  first  Bishop,”  14  Right  Reverend  Joseph 
Melcher.  The  latter  was,  it  will  be  remembered,  before  his 
appointment  to  the  northern  see,  spiritual  Father  of  the  Sisters 
of  Saint  Joseph  in  St.  Louis;  but  twenty  years  had  elapsed  from 
the  time  of  his  death  in  1873  before  the  Sisters  from  Carondelet 
entered  his  episcopal  city  on  the  invitation  of  its  fourth  Bishop, 
Right  Reverend  Sebastian  George  Messmer. 

Their  first  mission  in  Green  Bay  was  the  school  of  St.  John 
the  Evangelist,  in  the  oldest  parish  of  northern  Wisconsin,1,5  of 
which  the  Dominican  missionary,  Father  Mazzuchelli,  was  pastor 
in  1831,  and  a  future  General  of  the  Jesuits,  Father  Anderledy, 
was  assistant  in  1849. 16  ^  was  erection  of  the  pioneer 

church  of  St.  John  that  furnished  to  the  former  the  occasion  for 
a  graphic  description  in  his  Memoirs  1,7  of  the  American  manner 

14  h.  h.  heming.  The  History  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Wisconsin,  p.  570. 
Milwaukee,  1895-8. 

15  Ibid.,  p.  570. 

16  Ibid.,  p.  584. 

17  Page  59. 


196  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

of  building  with  logs,  a  process  which  interested  him  greatly. 
Two  other  churches  had  successively  replaced  this,  the  second 
being  a  handsome  brick  structure  with  graceful  spires  and  artistic 
interior.  Near  this  was  the  large  school,  opened  in  September 
3:893  with  six  Sisters  and  an  enrollment  of  three  hundred  pupils, 
under  the  direction  of  Sister  Herman  Joseph  O’Gorman. 

Three  years  later,  Reverend  Mother  Agatha,  urged  by  Bishop 
Messmer  to  begin  an  academy  for  girls,  secured  the  grounds  and 
monastery  formerly  belonging  to  the  Good  Shepherd  Sisters. 
Here  a  beginning  was  made  on  September  29,  1896,  with  nine 
students.  In  six  years,  the  building  could  no  longer  accom¬ 
modate  those  who  applied  for  admission;  and  in  1902,  the  Su¬ 
perior,  Sister  Mechtilda  Littenecker,  was  authorized  to  purchase 
property  on  Astor  Heights,  an  exclusive  residence  district,  for 
a  new  academy.  One  hundred  and  ten  pupils  were  registered 
there  in  the  fall  of  1903;  and  in  1905,  the  school  was  accredited 
to  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  having  attained  great  efficiency 
through  the  efforts  of  Sister  M.  Sacred  Heart  Egan  and  Sister 
Irene  O’Hara.  Another  academic  building  was  found  necessary 
in  1910,  and  provided  gymnasium,  auditorium,  larger  laboratories 
and  additional  class  rooms,  doubling  the  capacity  of  the  academy. 

Negaunee  and  Ishpeming — Indian  names  signifying  respec¬ 
tively  low  and  high — two  prosperous  cities  in  the  northern  penin¬ 
sula  in  Michigan,  received  communities  of  Sisters  from  Caron- 
delet  in  1882  and  1884.  The  former,  separated  by  Teal  Lake 
from  the  dense  pine  forests  on  the  north,  untravelled  except 
by  hunters  of  bear  and  wild  fowl,  was  the  central  depot  for  the 
iron  and  copper  mines  of  Lake  Superior.  Its  Catholic  population 
consisted  of  French,  Irish,  and  Germans,  to  which  was  added 
in  the  early  days  of  the  mining  industry  a  small  sprinkling  of 
English  converts.  Sister  Philomene  Joyce  was  in  charge  of  the 
first  band  of  five  teachers  who  opened  St.  Paul’s  school  in 
September  1882.  Large  sodalities,  organized  by  the  pastor, 
Reverend  Frederic  Eis,  later  Bishop  of  Marquette,  prepared 
the  way  for  the  success  of  the  school,  which  registered  three 


ON  THE  MISSION  FIELD 


197 


hundred  and  sixteen  pupils,  nearly  all  the  Catholic  children  in 
Negaunee.  A  rival  to  St.  Paul’s  in  numbers  and  success  was 
St.  John's  at  Ishpeming,  also  a  center  for  the  copper  industry, 
three  miles  distant  from  Negaunee  along  the  Michigan  roads. 
Six  Sisters  were  sent  to  Ishpeming  in  September  1884,  and  under 
the  successive  direction  of  Sister  Mathilda,  Sister  Concordia 
Horan  and  Sister  Agnes  Rossiter,  the  school  became  in  time  an 
important  factor  in  the  educational  system  of  the  city.1'8  Worthy 
of  remark,  apart  from  the  zealous  support  given  the  school  from 
its  inception  by  the  good  Catholic  people  of  Ishpeming,  was  the 
cooperation  with  the  Sisters  of  the  public  school  authorities 
and  teachers. 

The  old  St.  Ann’s  parish  in  Hancock,  having  grown  rapidly, 
was  divided  into  St.  Patrick's  and  St.  Joseph’s,  the  latter  for 
the  French  and  German  population.  In  the  former  was  the 
school  begun  in  1866;  and  for  St.  Joseph’s  parish  a  school  was 
commenced  in  1888  and  supplied  by  Sisters  sent  from  Carondelet 
by  Reverend  Mother  Agatha.  The  last  of  the  Michigan  schools 
which  she  undertook  was  St.  John  the  Baptist’s  at  Menominee 
in  1902.  In  Marquette,  on  February  17,  1903,  the  coldest  day 
of  an  unusually  cold  winter,  fire  broke  out  in  the  chapel  wing  of 
the  academy,  where  numerous  improvements  had  recently  been 
completed.  The  intense  cold  and  the  freezing  of  the  water 
mains  hindered  the  firemen  in  their  efforts  to  save  the  convent, 
and  it  was  completely  destroyed.  The  pupils  were  taken  to  the 
building  on  the  convent  grounds  from  which  the  orphans  had 
recently  been  removed  to  Baraga,  and  which  now  furnished  a 
residence  for  Sisters  and  boarders.  The  officials  of  Marquette 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  community  an  entire  floor  of  the  City 
Hall,  where  classes  were  resumed  and  continued  for  two  years. 

By  that  time  was  completed  the  Baraga  School,  a  monument 
in  brown  stone  to  Bishop  Baraga,  erected  by  the  parish  and  com¬ 
pletely  equipped  for  elementary  and  academic  work  for  both 

18rezek,  History  of  Diocese  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Marquette  Houghton, 
Mich.  1906,  vol.  II,  p.  245. 


198  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

boys  and  girls.  At  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  on  November 
i,  1903,  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  saintly  Baraga’s  consecra¬ 
tion,  Marquette  showed  its  appreciation  of  the  long  labors  of 
the  Sisters  since  in  1871  they  had  opened  their  school  in  the  old 
Ursuline  Academy.  Four  thousand  people,  including  the  City 
Council  and  prominent  business  and  professional  men,  were 
present  at  the  ceremony,  which  was  performed  by  Bishops  Eis 
of  Marquette  and  Messmer  of  Green  Bay. 

In  August  1883,  a  community  of  four  Sisters,  accompanied 
by  Reverend  Mother  Agatha,  left  Carondelet  for  Denver  to  take 
charge  of  St.  Patrick’s  School  in  what  was  then  North  Denver. 
Early  as  the  season  was,  the  travellers  were  snow-bound  for 
forty-eight  hours  in  Kansas.  In  North  Denver  they  found 
fewer  than  a  dozen  houses  scattered  along  mud  roads,  and  sur¬ 
rounded  by  wide,  uncultivated  stretches  of  country.  A  com¬ 
bination  church  and  school  was  still  in  an  unfinished  condition; 
and  the  temporary  church,  built  of  upright  planks,  let  in  wind 
and  rain.  Here,  the  morning  after  their  arrival,  with  umbrellas 
raised  to  keep  out  the  weather,  the  Sisters  heard  Mass ;  and  then 
in  a  heavy  snow  storm,  drove  through  wild  gorges  and  rocky 
passes  to  Central  City,  where  they  enjoyed  for  three  weeks  the 
hospitality  of  the  small  community  at  St.  Michael’s  Convent  then 
in  charge  of  Sister  Prudentiana  Shine.  St.  Michael’s,  perched 
on  the  side  of  the  mountain,  was  attended  by  miners’  children, 
hardy  little  mountaineers,  who  could  enjoy  the  experience  of  a 
night  spent  on  pallets  by  blazing  fires  in  the  class  rooms,  when 
cut  off  by  blizzards  from  all  possibility  of  reaching  their  homes. 
On  September  29,  the  Sisters  returned  to  Denver,  and  while 
Sister  James  Stanislaus  Rogan  and  one  assistant  organized  the 
classes — a  total  of  forty-nine  pupils — Reverend  Mother,  as  the 
self-appointed  manager  of  the  culinary  department,  awaited  the 
arrival  of  Sister  Adele  Hennessey  from  St.  Louis  to  accompany 
her  on  a  visitation  of  the  Arizona  missions.  Like  most  of  the 
schools  which  had  small  and  unpretentious  beginnings,  St. 
Patrick’s  grew  and  prospered  with  the  growth  of  the  city;  and 


ON  THE  MISSION  FIELD 


199 


in  1893,  the  Sisters  in  Denver  welcomed  another  colony  sent  from 
the  Mother  House  to  St.  Francis  de  Sales’  School,  averaging 
three  hundred  pupils.  In  1887,  St.  Thomas’  School  at  Newton, 
and  in  1898,  the  Sacred  Heart  School  at  Campus,  both  in  Illinois, 
received  communities  from  Carondelet. 

The  reputation  of  the  Congregation  reached  Mexico,  and  in 
the  early  nineties  there  came  to  Reverend  Mother  petitions  for 
Sisters  from  the  Bishops  of  Leon,  Pueblo  de  los  Angeles  and 
Oaxaca,  in  whose  dioceses  peculiar  difficulties  confronted  Cath¬ 
olics  in  the  matter  of  education,  and  charitable  institutions  under 
Catholic  auspices  were  practically  unknown,  owing  to  the  re¬ 
strictions  placed  by  the  Government  on  native  communities. 
In  the  spring  of  1892,  Mother  Julia  Littenecker  and  Sister 
Monica  Corrigan  were  sent  by  Reverend  Mother  on  a  preliminary 
visit  of  investigation  to  Mexico,  and  reported  conditions  favor¬ 
able  in  Leon,  where  elementary  schools  for  poor  children  were 
desired,  and  also  in  Oaxaca,  where  the  venerable  Bishop  Gillow 
had  made  preparations  for  secondary  schools  for  girls.  In  both 
places,  the  civil  authorities  were  bitterly  anti-Catholic.  Before 
arrangements  were  completed  in  Carondelet  for  sending  Sisters 
to  these  distant  fields,  complications  arose  in  Mexico  which 
caused  the  abandonment  of  the  project,  leaving  as  the  only  result 
of  protracted  negotiations  between  the  ecclesiastics  of  that  coun¬ 
try  and  the  authorities  in  Carondelet,  a  voluminous  correspon¬ 
dence  which  throws  interesting  side  lights  on  the  unenviable  posi¬ 
tion  of  the  Church  in  Mexico  under  the  Constitution  of  1857. 

As  a  pleasing  outcome  of  the  Sisters’  extended  visit,  and  an 
evidence  of  the  fertility  of  the  field  which  they  were  obliged  to 
leave  untilled,  a  number  of  young  Spanish  girls  of  good  families 
became  students  at  the  academy  in  St.  Louis ;  and  others,  led 
by  the  grace  of  religious  vocation,  sought  and  obtained  admission 
into  the  novitiate,  becoming  useful  and  edifying  members  of 
the  Community.  The  membership  of  the  Congregation  was 
further  increased  in  the  spring  of  1898  by  the  arrival  from 
Ireland  of  a  large  number  of  capable  young  girls,  the  majority 


200  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

of  whom  remained;  and  in  1900,  a  small  community  of  diocesan 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,19  who  had  settled  in  Oklahoma  at  the 
request  of  Monsignor  Ketcham  and  were  conducting  Nazareth 
Academy  in  Muskogee,  followed  the  advice  of  Bishop  Meers- 
chaert  and  applied  to  the  Mother  House  in  St.  Louis  for  affilia¬ 
tion.  They  were  received,  and  their  boarding  and  day  schools 
then  came  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Carondelet. 

On  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish- American  War  in  1898,  Rev¬ 
erend  Mother  was  called  upon  for  army  nurses;  and  the  eleven 
Sisters  whom  she  sent  to  serve  in  that  capacity  were  delegated 
to  the  Second  Division  of  the  Volunteer  Army,  then  in  training 
at  Camp  Hamilton,  near  Lexington,  Kentucky.  Sister  Liguori 
McNamara,  for  many  years  Superior  of  St.  Joseph’s  Hospital 
in  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  was  in  charge  of  the  unit  which  left 
Carondelet  October  28,  1898,  for  Camp  Hamilton,  and  which 
consisted  of  Sisters  Irmina  Dougherty,  Bonaventure  Nealon, 
Delphine  Dillon,  Rudolph  Meyers,  and  Raymond  Ward,  of  the 
St.  Louis  Province,  and  Sisters  Theda  Reid,  Julitta  Carroll, 
■Blandina  Geary,  Florentia  Downs,  and  Aloise  O’Dowd,  ex¬ 
perienced  nurses  from  the  hospitals  in  St.  Paul.  On  October  5, 
they  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States  at  Camp 
Hamilton,  a  city  of  tents,  where,  in  temporary  hospitals,  six 
hundred  troops  were  suffering  from  typhoid  and  malaria.  Of 
the  one  hundred  nurses  in  charge,  forty-eight  were  religious, 
the  Sisters  of  Charity  from  Emmitsburg  and  the  Sisters  of  the 
Holy  Cross  having  preceded  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph. 

To  Sister  Liguori  and  her  band,  though  they  were  accustomed 
to  sick  duty  in  hospitals,  army  life  at  first  proved  a  novel  ex¬ 
perience;  but  they  soon  learned  to  obey  taps  and  bugle  calls, 
and  in  the  midst  of  hardships,  found  many  consolations.  Their 
convent  was  a  tent;  and  in  its  temporary  chapel,  Mass  was  said 
daily  by  the  Reverend  chaplain  of  the  Twelfth  New  York  Regi¬ 
ment,  which  formed  part  of  the  division.  Day  and  night  the 
Sisters  relieved  one  another  in  the  wards,  their  labors  sweetened 


19  From  Brooklyn,  New  York. 


ON  THE  MISSION  FIELD 


201 


by  the  kind  and  helpful  intercourse  of  the  communities,  one 
with  the  other,  and  rewarded  by  the  restoration  to  health  of  by 
far  the  greater  number  of  their  patients.  Many  of  these  were 
mere  boys,  who  had  volunteered  with  ardor ;  but  before  their 
valor  could  be  put  to  the  test,  were  overcome  by  the  insidious 
foes  of  fever  and  nostalgia.  All  were  full  of  gratitude  for  the 
least  service  that  rendered  their  surroundings  more  homelike. 

From  Kentucky,  on  the  breaking  up  of  Camp  Hamilton, 
the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  were  transferred  on  December  i  to 
Camp  Gilman  in  Georgia,  and  in  the  beginning  of  the  New  Year, 
to  Matanzas,  Cuba.  Before  leaving  for  the  latter  place,  they 
were  visited  by  Reverend  Mother,  who,  with  Mother  Seraphine 
Ireland  of  the  St.  Paul  Province,  left  St.  Louis  immediately  after 
Christmas  for  Georgia.  The  two  superiors  spent  several  memor¬ 
able  days  in  camp  with  the  Sisters  before  the  division  started  for 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  its  point  of  departure  for  Matanzas. 
This  city  was  reached  January  3,  1899,  just  after  the  sur¬ 
render  of  the  port.  In  Matanzas,  the  Sisters  assumed  charge 
of  a  government  hospital,  fitted  up  in  an  old  Spanish  mansion 
overlooking  the  bay,  where  they  continued  their  work  of  mercy 
until  the  middle  of  April  1899,  caring  for  scores  of  typhoid 
patients,  all  of  whom  recovered.  On  April  1,  a  young  civilian 
died,  a  victim  of  yellow  fever  in  a  violent  form.  He  had  been 
received  at  the  hospital  and  placed  in  the  care  of  Sister  Liguori, 
who  was  afterwards  quarantined  for  three  weeks  in  a  tent  on 
the  flat  roof  of  the  hospital  building.  On  April  22,  there  being 
no  further  need  of  their  services  in  the  Volunteer  Army,  the 
Sisters  resigned  their  commission  and  returned  to  Carondelet. 
They  were  urged  to  remain  and  direct  an  orphan  asylum  which 
the  United  States  military  authorities  in  Matanzas  wished  carried 
on  by  Americans.  To  this  project,  Reverend  Mother  would  not 
consent ;  nor  was  it  desired  by  Archbishop  Chapelle,  recently 
appointed  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Cuba,  who  wisely  desired  to  effect 
no  immediate  changes  in  existing  conditions.20 

20  Spanish  W ar  Correspondence.  Oct.  5,  1898  to  April  22,  1899. 


202  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

After  her  return  from  Cuba,  Sister  Liguori  was  sent  to  take 
charge  of  a  hospital  in  Hancock,  Michigan.  This  had  been  for 
three  years  under  a  community  of  Sisters  who  had  failed  to 
make  it  a  success;  and  at  the  urgent  request  of  the  Administrator 
of  the  Marquette  diocese,  Reverend  Mother  reluctantly  took  the 
property.  The  first  years  were  difficult  ones  for  the  staff  of 
six  Sisters,  who,  in  cramped  quarters  and  with  poor  equipment 
had  to  make  suitable  provision  for  patients  and  restore  the  con¬ 
fidence  of  physicians  and  surgeons.  To  increase  their  trials,  a 
trapper  brought  from  L’Anse  for  treatment  in  the  summer  of 
1900  developed  smallpox,  which  was  communicated  to  four 
other  inmates  of  the  hospital.  These  were  placed  in  quarantine 
in  the  long-unused  pest  house,  a  five-room  frame  building  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  city,  Sister  Liguori  and  Sister  Delphine  accom¬ 
panying  them  as  nurses.  During  their  five  week’s  isolation,  the 
two  Sisters  and  their  patients  received  great  sympathy  and  kind¬ 
ness  from  the  people  of  Hancock,  who  continually  provided  them 
with  comforts  and  conveniences.  Two  Sisters  from  St.  Patrick’s 
convent  in  the  city,  where  Sister  Baptista  Montgomery  was  Su¬ 
perior,  walked  every  day  to  the  improvised  hospital,  and  from 
the  opposite  side  of  the  country  road  which  the  quarantine  regula¬ 
tions  did  not  permit  them  to  cross,  sent  cheering  messages  to  the 
voluntary  prisoners. 

God  rewarded  the  unselfishness  of  the  Sisters  and  their  faith¬ 
ful  devotion  to  duty  in  the  face  of  danger.  Success  and 
patronage  came  their  way,  and  good  friends  were  not  wanting. 
In  August,  1903,  ground  was  broken  for  the  new  St.  Joseph’s 
Hospital  on  one  of  the  most  healthful  and  beautiful  sites  of 
Hancock,  fronting  Portage  Lake.  Sister  Liguori ’s  long  ex¬ 
perience  enabled  her  to  plan  well,  and  a  four  story  Renaissance 
building  of  brick  and  sandstone,  with  attractive  pillared  entrance 
and  complete  interior  equipment  for  a  limited  number  of  patients 
was  dedicated  on  June  5,  1904.  The  Mayor  and  city  officials 
of  Hancock  were  among  the  throng  of  citizens  whose  attendance 


ON  THE  MISSION  FIELD 


203 

at  the  ceremony  testified  their  appreciation  of  the  good  accom¬ 
plished  by  the  Sisters  in  the  preceding  five  years. 

The  last  important  work  undertaken  by  Reverend  Mother 
Agatha  was  the  erection  of  Holy  Family  Chapel  in  Carondelet, 
the  corner  stone  of  which  was  laid  on  October  15,  1897,  by 
Archbishop  Kain  of  St.  Louis.  To  the  building  and  furnish¬ 
ing  of  this,  she  devoted  the  closing  years  of  her  life.  The 
chapel  is  late  Romanesque  in  style,  the  lofty  arches  of  the  ceiling 
supported  on  ornate  Corinthian  columns.  An  ambulatory  runs 
around  three  sides  of  the  clerestory,  beneath  which,  as  a 
unique  feature,  are  the  Stations  of  the  Cross  in  round  medal¬ 
lions,  forming  part  of  the  decorative  scheme.  In  the  sanctuary 
are  three  marble  altars,  the  main  one  being  the  gift  of  Mary 
Gillick  of  St.  Louis,  mother  of  the  architect.  A  marble  altar 
rail,  presented  by  Mrs.  Louise  Sauer,  encloses  the  transepts,  the 
north  one  of  which  is  the  Martyrs’  Chapel.  In  the  south  tran¬ 
sept  is  a  memorial  altar  in  black  and  white  marble,  above  which 
is  a  sculptured  panel  representing  the  death  of  Saint  Joseph. 
This  and  the  statues  of  the  Apostles  set  around  the  walls  of  the 
ground  story  and  the  Holy  Family  group  over  the  main  altar, 
were  done  by  Joseph  Sibbel  of  New  York.  Bishop  Eis  of  Mar¬ 
quette  was  the  donor  of  a  fine  pipe  organ,  and  many  other  friends 
of  the  Congregation  deemed  it  a  privilege  to  contribute  to  the 
noble  edifice,  a  monument  to  Reverend  Mother  Agatha’s  zeal  for 
the  beauty  of  God’s  House.  She  had,  herself,  saved  for  years 
gold  ornaments  and  jewelry,  given  up  to  her  by  different  Sisters 
at  their  entrance  into  the  novitiate;  and  this  was  utilized  in  the 
making  of  a  chalice,  an  exquisite  bit  of  workmanship,  which, 
a  little  larger  than  ordinary  size,  contains  four  hundred  and  fifty 
pennyweight  of  pure  gold,  and  is  set  with  opals,  amethysts, 
topazes  and  diamonds.  Three  months  of  continuous  work  on 
the  part  of  engravers  produced  beautiful  designs,  symbolic  wheat 
and  grapes  in  green  and  gold,  and  initials  outlined  with  gems. 

In  Holy  Family  Chapel  was  celebrated  the  golden  jubilee  of 


204  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Reverend  Mother’s  profession.  The  fiftieth  anniversary  of  that 
event  fell  on  October  15,  1902;  but  the  humble  Superior-General, 
in  order  to  avoid  any  demonstration  in  her  honor,  such  as  she 
knew  the  Sisters  were  preparing  to  make,  quietly  left  the  Mother 
House  in  the  early  fall  of  1902  for  an  extended  visitation  of  the 
province.  On  her  return  in  February  1903,  the  postponed 
celebration  took  place,  honoring  Reverend  Mother  and  with  her 
Sister  Mary  Frances  Thone,  her  companion  of  1850.  The  first 
of  the  three  days’  services  was  a  Solemn  High  Mass  appropriate 
to  the  occasion  in  Holy  Family  Chapel  on  February  5,  the  feast 
of  Saint  Agatha,  followed  in  the  afternoon  by  the  academy 
student’s  jubilee  entertainment,  a  splendid  rendition  of  Gaul’s 
oratorio,  Ruth ,  introducing  Biblical  scenes  and  characters.  On 
the  afternoon  of  February  6,  the  Alumnae  presented  a  classical 
drama,  The  Vestals;  and  an  elaborate  musical  programme  on  the 
following  day  at  the  Convent  of  Our  Lady  of  Good  Counsel 
closed  the  festivities,  which  were  attended  by  the  Archbishop  of 
St.  Louis,  Most  Reverend  John  J.  Kain,  and  a  number  of  clergy, 
as  well  as  hundreds  of  Sisters  and  other  friends  of  Reverend 
Mother.  Reverend  Mother  Mary  Bernard  Elliot,  Superior  of 
the  Sisters  of  Mercy  in  Vicksburg,  Mississippi,  an  alumna  of 
the  Carondelet  Academy,  with  her  companion,  Sister  Mercedes, 
was  the  honored  guest  of  her  Alma  Mater  during  the  celebration. 

For  two  years  preceding  this  memorable  event,  Reverend 
Mother,  who  had  always  enjoyed  perfect  health,  was  weakening 
under  the  activities  of  her  long  and  laborious  life.  Never  by 
any  conscious  sign,  did  she  make  known  her  fatigues  or  ailments  ;  , 
but  a  complete  breakdown  in  the  early  spring  of  1903  revealed 
her  real  condition  to  the  Sisters,  who  then  realized  that  time 
would  soon  be  at  an  end  for  her  whom  they  loved  so  dearly. 
During  a  protracted  illness,  her  submission  to  the  decrees  of 
Providence  found  frequent  expression  in:  “God’s  will  is  best; 
may  it  be  accomplished  in  me.”  Away  from  the  heat  of  a 
St.  Louis  summer  she  was  taken  to  the  cooler  climate  of  St. 
Paul,  where,  at  St.  Joseph’s  Hospital,  she  received  every  care 


HOLY  FAMILY  CHAPEL,  MOTHER  HOUSE 


ON  THE  MISSION  FIELD 


205 

and  attention ;  but  all  that  love  and  skill  could  do  failed  to  effect 
a  recovery  or  bring  about  more  than  a  slight  alleviation  of  her 
sufferings. 

In  October,  she  returned  to  Carondelet;  and  until  the  follow¬ 
ing  January,  she  endured  severe  physical  pain  without  complaint, 
receiving  her  Lord  daily  in  Holy  Communion,  and  though  con¬ 
fined  to  bed,  performing  privately  every  spiritual  exercise  re¬ 
quired  by  rule.  To  the  last  she  desired  and  enjoyed  the  com¬ 
pany  of  the  Sisters,  whom  she  did  not  wish  kept  from  her  sick 
room  even  on  the  plea  of  giving  her  thereby  rest  and  quiet. 
On  the  morning  of  Saturday,  January  16,  1904,  the  community 
of  the  Mother  House  was  summoned  to  answer  the  prayers  for 
the  departing  soul  said  by  Reverend  Bernardine  Weis,  of  the 
Franciscan  Fathers  of  St.  Louis;  and  at  half  past  eleven,  Rev¬ 
erend  Mother  Agatha,  conscious  to  the  end,  gave  up  her  strong 
soul  without  a  struggle  to  its  Maker,  her  death,  “a  picture  of 
moral  beauty  never  to  be  forgotten  by  those  who  witnessed  it.” 

The  solemn  Requiem  Mass  on  Tuesday,  January  19,  was  said 
by  His  Grace,  Archbishop  Glennon  of  St.  Louis,  assisted  by 
Reverend  Bernardine  Weis  and  Reverend  Patrick  Dooley  as  dea¬ 
con  and  sub-deacon,  Reverend  Fathers  Connolly  and  McDonald 
as  deacons  of  honor,  and  Reverend  M.  S.  Brennan  master  of 
ceremonies.  The  sermon  on  the  consoling  text,  “I  am  the 
Resurrection  and  the  Life,”  was  delivered  by  Reverend  Patrick 
W.  Tallon,  a  devoted  friend  of  Mother  Agatha  and  her  com¬ 
munity.  Members  of  the  Congregation  from  all  part  of  the 
country,  and  more  than  two  hundred  clergy  and  religious  of 
different  orders  of  men  and  women  filled  the  sombrely  draped 
chapel,  down  the  long  aisle  of  which  Reverend  Mother  s  remains 
were  borne  by  six  of  her  life-long  friends  and  co-laborers: 
Mothers  Seraphine  Ireland  and  Mary  John  Cary,  Provincial 
Superiors,  and  Sisters  Loyola  Ryan,  Justine  Lemay,  Julia 
Littenecker  and  Liguori  Monaghan. 

The  interment  was  at  Nazareth,  where  the  services  at  the 
grave  were  performed  by  the  resident  chaplain,  Father  Larche, 


206  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

assisted  by  Reverend  D.  Healy  of  Sedalia,  Missouri,  Fathers 
McDonald  and  Cooney  of  St.  Louis,  and  the  Franciscan  Fathers 
Bernardine,  Francis  and  Timothy.  The  simple  headstone  which 
marked  her  last  resting  place  gave  no  hint  of  Reverend  Mother’s 
nobility  of  soul  or  of  her  virtues.  These  were  enshrined  in  the 
hearts  of  the  poor  and  the  afflicted  whom  she  had  so  often  aided, 
of  the  orphans  whom  she  had  befriended,  of  eighteen  hundred 
Sisters  who  mourned  the  loss  of  a  beloved  Mother,  and  cherished 
her  memory  as  a  precious  legacy.  “You  are  rich  in  the  traditions 
of  the  past,”  said  her  panegyrist,  addressing  her  community, 
“you  are  rich  in  the  number  of  your  members;  but  most  of  all 
are  you  rich  in  the  example  that  Mother  Agatha  has  left  you.” 

Reverend  Mother  had  always  disliked  and  shunned  public  no¬ 
tice;  but  the  testimonials  to  her  worth  and  character  which  ap¬ 
peared  at  her  death  gave  evidence  that  the  great  work  quietly 
accomplished  by  her  in  many  fields  had  not  escaped  the  attention 
of  the  religious  world.  A  delayed  cablegram  received  just  after 
her  death  from  Cardinal  Mery  del  Val  communicated  the  blessing 
in  articulo  mortis  of  Pope  Pius  X,  who  was  informed  of  her 
condition  by  Monsignor  Antonini,  a  friend  of  the  Congregation 
located  in  Rome.  The  Alumnae  Association  of  St.  Joseph’s 
Academy  adopted  the  following  resolutions : 

Whereas :  It  has  pleased  Almighty  God  in  His  infinite  wisdom 
to  remove  from  our  midst  our  beloved  Honorary  President,  Rever¬ 
end  Mother  Agatha  Guthrie ;  and 

Whereas :  In  this  dispensation  of  Providence,  the  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph  have  lost  a  truly  admirable  Superior,  a  loving  and  beloved 
Mother,  who  has  endeared  herself  to  all  by  the  simplicity  of  her  life, 
by  the  tender  solicitude  manifested  not  only  towards  her  daughters 
in  religion,  but  towards  each  of  us  who  came  under  her  care;  and 

Whereas :  The  Alumnse  Association  has  lost  a  true,  tried  and 
valued  friend,  in  whose  great  heart  there  was  room  for  the  best 
interest  of  every  alumna ;  and  who  during  the  long  period  of  her 
wise  and  beneficent  administration  has  left  our  Alma  Mater  an  ad¬ 
mirable  example  of  Christian  love  and  fortitude,  and 


ON  THE  MISSION  FIELD 


207 

Whereas :  We  desire  to  give  expression  to  the  love  and  esteem 
which,  we  entertain  for  our  dear  departed  Reverend  Mother:  there¬ 
fore,  be  it 

Resolved :  That  we  extend  our  sincere  and  heartfelt  condolence 
to  her  bereaved  children,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  and  to  all  who, 
as  pupils  of  St.  Joseph’s,  have  known  her  tender  care :  and  be  it 
Resolved :  That  the  Alumnae  Association  of  St.  Joseph’s  Acad¬ 
emy  hereby  give  public  testimony  of  the  esteem  in  which  Reverend 
Mother  Agatha  was  so  worthily  held ;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved :  That  we  strengthen  within  ourselves  the  resolution 
to  carry  out  in  our  lives  the  high  ideals  formed  for  us  by  this 
noble  Mother,  this  valiant  woman,  in  whose  life  were  exemplified 
all  womanly  virtues,  that  thereby  we  may  the  better  prove  our 
appreciation  of  her  interest  in  us  and  our  gratitude  to  God  in  whose 
presence  we  confidently  hope  one  day  to  be  gathered  around  our 
venerated  and  lamented  Mother ;  and  be  it 

Resolved :  That  these  resolutions  be  spread  upon  the  minutes 
of  the  association,  and  that  a  copy  of  them  be  suitably  engraved 
and  presented  to  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph’s  Academy. 

Mary  Quinlan,  Chairman 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  CONGREGATION  IN  THE  EAST.  (1858-1922) 

The  first  house  of  the  Congregation  in  the  diocese  of  Albany 
was  opened  at  Oswego,  in  1858.  This  diocese  differed  widely 
in  both  social  and  religious  aspects  from  those  in  the  central 
and  northern  sections  of  the  country  which  the  Sisters  entered 
at  an  earlier  period.  Primitive  conditions  had  long  since  given 
place  to  modern  ones;  and  pioneer  endeavors,  to  old  and  estab¬ 
lished  customs.  General  prosperity  followed  in  the  wake  of 
internal  improvements,  the  building  of  roads  and  canals,  milling 
and  farming  industries.  In  the  Catholic  population  of  eastern 
New  York,  there  had  been  a  steady  growth  for  more  than  half 
a  century,  when  Albany,  successively  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
Baltimore  and  New  York  since  1789,  became  in  1847  an  ^n_ 
dependent  see. 

Great  tides  of  immigration  in  the  following  decade,  much  of 
it  due  to  intolerable  conditions  in  Ireland,  increased  the  number 
of  Catholics,  and  contributed  to  the  building  of  churches  and 
the  formation  of  large  parishes.  The  first  Bishop  of  Albany, 
later  the  first  American  Cardinal,  John  McCloskey,  came  into 
a  territory  as  rich  in  sacred  memories  as  in  historical  traditions. 
Missionaries  had  shed  their  blood  in  the  country  of  the  Mohawks 
and  endured  torture  and  death  there  that  the  Faith  might  live. 
The  new  prelate  was  remarkably  zealous  in  spreading  the  Faith 
for  which  the  martyred  Isaac  Jogues  had  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  cruel  captors,  and  which  had  won  a  gentle  daughter,  Katarina 
Tegakwitha,  from  the  fiercest  of  American  tribes.  Some  idea 
of  his  labors  and  their  success  may  be  gleaned  from  the  fact 

that  the  twenty-five  churches  which  he  found  in  his  diocese  in 

208 


EXPANSION  EASTWARD 


209 

1847  had  increased  in  1861  to  one  hundred  and  seventeen,  and 
the  two  parish  schools  to  twenty-seven.1 

Five  of  these  schools  were  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph,  who  found  in  Bishop  McCloskey  during  his  episcopate 
a  staunch  supporter  and  a  loyal  friend.  In  contrast  to  many 
of  their  western  experiences,  the  Sisters  in  nearly  every  instance 
in  the  East,  entered  well  established  parishes  with  large  congre¬ 
gations  and  comfortably  built  schools.  In  many  of  these,  classes 
for  boys  and  girls  under  lay  supervision  were  in  operation  before 
the  arrival  of  the  Sisters,  who  thus  began  the  superstructure 
of  Catholic  education  on  foundations  already  well  laid.  Children 
flocked  to  these  schools  in  hundreds,  and  sodalities,  Sunday- 
schools  and  circulating  libraries  soon  became  flourishing  institu¬ 
tions. 

St.  Mary’s,  in  Oswego,  was  a  parish  organized  by  French 
Canadians,  whose  church,  begun  in  1848,  was  consecrated  by 
Bishop  McCloskey  in  1850.  Irish  and  American  families  came 
in  large  numbers  into  the  parish,  which  soon  had  a  dual  con¬ 
gregation,  the  French  members  having  their  own  separate  hours 
for  services  on  Sundays.  A  school  was  commenced  in  the  base¬ 
ment  of  the  church,  and  conducted  by  two  English  speaking 
teachers,  the  Misses  Halligan  and  Gilmour.  In  1858,  the  pastor, 
Reverend  Joseph  Guerdet,  secured  a  building  for  a  parochial 
school,  and  at  his  request,  six  Sisters  were  sent  from  Carondelet, 
with  Sister  Stanislaus  Saul  as  Superior.  The  other  members 
of  this  first  community  were  Sisters  Chrysostom  McCann,  Pat¬ 
ricia  Pyne,  Hyacinthe  Blanc,  Flavia  Waldron,  and  Eusebius 
Verdin.  Flourishing  at  first,  then  passing  through  varying 
periods  of  struggle  and  discouragement  due  to  changing  condi¬ 
tions  in  city  and  parish,  the  school  maintained  a  continuous 
existence  from  the  beginning  to  its  present  prosperous  state. 
In  1905,  the  first  building,  after  forty-seven  years  of  service, 
was  demolished  to  give  place  to  another  on  the  same  site,  Sisters 
and  children  in  the  meantime  assembling  in  the  old  church  where 


1  SHEA,  op.  cit.,  p.  481. 


2io  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 


classes  were  conducted  for  one  year  under  difficulties  cheerfully 
borne  by  all  in  view  of  the  future’s  great  promise.  The  new 
St.  Mary’s  was  blessed  on  the  first  Sunday  of  September  1906 
by  Right  Reverend  Bishop  Ludden  of  Syracuse,  to  which  diocese 
Oswego  then  belonged.  Eight  teachers  had  been  added  to  the 
original  staff  of  six,  and  the  average  enrollment  was  six  hundred 
pupils. 

In  July,  i860,  the  second  mission  of  the  Congregation  in 
eastern  New  York  was  established  at  Cohoes  on  the  invitation 
of  Reverend  Thomas  Keveny.  The  community  consisted  of  six 
Sisters,  Sister  Philomene  Billex,  Sister  Flavia  Waldron,  Dominic 
Fink,  Mary  de  Sales  Morrissey,  Prudentia  O’Reilly,  and  Mary 
Charles  Brennan.  The  first  two  were  accompanied  to  Cohoes 
by  Mother  Saint  John  Facemaz,  then  on  her  way  to  Rome,  as 
stated  in  a  preceding  chapter.  They  reached  their  destination 
on  July  17,  and  were  followed  in  ten  days  by  the  remaining  four. 
Five  hundred  children  enrolled  in  the  school,  which  was  opened 
in  October  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Bernard.  Cohoes  was 
in  the  center  of  a  milling  district,  and  many  of  the  young  people 
were  employed  in  factories.  For  these,  evening  classes  were 
conducted  by  the  Sisters  at  the  convent.  A  circulating  library 
was  established  and  sodalities  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  the  Holy 
Angels  and  the  Infant  Jesus  were  organized,  each  with  its  dis¬ 
tinctive  badge  and  banner. 

On  November  11,  i860,  less  than  two  months  after  the  open¬ 
ing  of  school,  Sister  Philomene  died,  and  was  replaced  by  Sister 
Angela  Hanner,  sent  from  St.  Louis,  where  she  had  been  for 
ten  years  in  charge  of  St.  Vincent’s  Orphanage.  In  the  fall 
of  1861,  a  select  school  numbering  forty  young  ladies  was  com¬ 
menced  at  the  convent.  A  class  of  four  hundred  children  was 
confirmed  in  1862  by  Bishop  McCloskey,  who  met  the  children 
of  St.  Bernard’s  a  second  time  in  his  own  city.  During  a  severe 
snow  storm  in  the  following  winter,  Father  Keveny,  justly  proud 
of  his  fine  school,  took  the  pupils  to  Albany  on  what  was  long 
remembered  as  the  “mammoth  sleigh-ride.”  Fifty  carryalls 


EXPANSION  EASTWARD 


21 1 


on  runners  were  filled  with  happy  children;  and  accompanied  by 
pastor  and  teachers,  the  long  train  started  for  the  episcopal  city, 
where  it  was  reviewed  at  the  cathedral  by  Bishop  McCloskey  and 
his  Vicar-General,  Father  Wadhams.  The  party  was  then  enter¬ 
tained  at  the  Cathedral  school.  Sisters  Mary  John  Cary,  Maria 
Joseph  Hurley,  Clara  Denihan  and  Celestine  Degnan,  were  among 
the  teachers  who  contributed  to  the  future  success  of  St.  Bernard’s 
School,  which  was  chartered  in  1890  as  an  Academy  by  the 
University  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

In  September,  1861,  four  schools  were  opened  in  the  diocese 
of  Albany,  for  which  sixteen  Sisters  were  sent  from  Carondelet, 
leaving  there  on  August  28.  Seven  of  this  number  were  destined 
for  Troy,  the  others  for  Albany  and  Syracuse.  At  Syracuse, 
Salina  as  it  was  then  called,  where  the  Sisters  were  invited  by  the 
pastor  of  St.  John  the  Baptist’s  parish,  Reverend  Michael 
Hackett,  the  small  community  arrived  on  the  morning  of  Sep¬ 
tember  3,  the  day  on  which  that  zealous  priest,  described  by 
those  who  knew  him  as  concentrating  in  himself  “all  that  con¬ 
tributes  to  make  a  perfect  man,”  2  was  being  borne  to  his  last 
resting  place,  his  unexpected  death  having  occurred  a  few  days 
before.  Under  his  successor,  Reverend  Maurice  Sheehan,  the 
Sisters  began  their  mission  in  Salina,  its  material  success  depend¬ 
ing  for  a  long  time  on  the  fluctuating  fortunes  of  the  great  salt 
works  in  which  the  working  population  was  engaged.  Its  most 
flourishing  period  was  in  1887,  when  the  school  numbered  five 
hundred  pupils,  and  the  institution  was  chartered  under  the 
Regents  of  New  York.  Its  high  school  department  was  later 
abandoned,  and  the  average  attendance  since  has  been  three 
hundred  and  thirty  in  the  elementary  grades  with  seven 
teachers. 

Sister  Francis  Xavier  Husey  was  Superior  of  the  community 
which,  on  the  invitation  of  Bishop  McCloskey,  took  up  its  tem¬ 
porary  residence  in  September,  1861,  in  an  old  brick  building 

2  History  of  the  Diocese  of  Syracuse,  edited  by  w.p.h.  hewitt,  p.  9. 
Syracuse,  New  York,  1911. 


212  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

on  Eagle  Street  in  Albany.  With  Sister  Ephraim  Wade,  she 
took  charge  in  two  upper  rooms  of  the  small  Cathedral  School, 
of  the  girls  and  little  boys  between  the  ages  of  six  and  ten  years ; 
and  the  Christian  Brothers  taught  the  large  boys.  The  total 
enrollment  was  two  hundred  pupils ;  and  the  registry  of  that 
time  contains  the  names  of  boys  and  girls  who  later  distinguished 
themselves  in  the  social,  business  and  professional  life  of  Albany. 
The  first  girl  registered  was  Mary  Lawlor,  who  afterwards  en¬ 
tered  the  novitiate  in  Troy,  and  was  known  as  Sister  Lucina. 
In  1866,  the  Sisters  moved  into  a  new  convent  on  Elm  Street. 
With  them  resided  the  two  Sister  teachers  of  the  German  school 
in  Holy  Cross  Parish,  also  commenced  in  1861  with  a  large 
enrollment.  In  response  to  a  demand  for  a  girls’  select  school,  at 
that  time  the  equivalent  of  the  day  academy,  additional  property 
was  purchased  on  Elm  Street  in  1872,  and  a  building  erected  by 
a  popular  subscription,  the  Rector  of  the  Cathedral,  Reverend 
Patrick  Ludden,  heading  the  list  with  five  hundred  dollars.  This 
school  was  opened  in  1874  with  one  hundred  girls. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Congregation  had  made  great  strides 
in  Troy,  and  had  spread  to  other  parts  of  the  diocese.  When, 
in  April  1861,  Father  Joseph  Loyzance,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
requested  of  Reverend  Mother  Saint  John  teachers  for  St. 
Joseph’s  parish  in  Troy,  he  held  out  many  inducements.  The 
congregation  there  was  very  large,  and  its  numerous  children  as 
yet  unprovided  with  other  means  of  obtaining  an  education  than 
that  afforded  by  a  neighboring  free  school  under  Protestant 
auspices.3  The  Jesuits,  having  come  to  Troy  with  the  intention 
of  opening  a  college  there,  had  a  large  building  erected  for  that 
purpose  capable  of  accommodating  more  than  four  hundred  pu¬ 
pils.  Here,  in  September,  1861,  the  parish  school  was  organized, 
the  Sisters’  residence  near  by  being  a  two  story  brick  house  of 
the  plainest  New  England  type.  The  school  was  crowded  in 
a  short  time,  and  the  basement  of  the  church  was  pressed  into 
service  for  additional  class  rooms. 

8  Letter  of  Father  Loyzance  to  Mother  Saint  John,  April  3,  1861. 


EXPANSION  EASTWARD 


213 


Shortly  after  its  opening,  the  convent  in  St.  Joseph’s  parish, 
Troy,  was  selected  for  the  novitiate  and  provincial  house  of  the 
eastern  province  of  the  Congregation,  and  Mother  Agatha  Guth¬ 
rie  was  appointed  Provincial  Superior.  After  an  Act  of  Incor¬ 
poration  by  the  New  York  Legislature,  secured  in  1863  by 
Reverend  Mother  Saint  John  on  the  advice  of  Bishop  McCloskey, 
a  piece  of  property  was  secured  at  the  head  of  Jackson  Street. 
On  this  stood  a  frame  house  into  which  the  Sisters  moved  in 
1864;  and  here  on  December  8  of  that  year,  the  first  postulant 
received  into  the  Troy  novitiate,  Ellen  Sheehan  of  Balltown, 
New  York,  was  given  the  habit  and  the  name  of  Sister  Alice. 
The  novitiate,  under  Sister  Basil  Morris  as  mistress  of  novices, 
grew  slowly  at  first,  and  several  years  elapsed  before  it  attained 
numerical  strength  sufficient  to  supply  the  demands  made  in  the 
East  for  Sisters. 

In  1862,  Binghamton  and  Saratoga  Springs,  both  ideal  as  to 
location  and  surroundings,  were  provided  with  Sisters  sent  from 
Carondelet  on  the  requests  of  their  respective  pastors,  Reverend 
Fathers  Hourigan  and  Cull.  A  boarding  and  day  academy  for 
girls  was  commenced  in  the  former  place,  and  a  parochial  school 
for  boys;  and  two  hundred  pupils  were  enrolled  in  a  day  school 
in  the  latter.  In  September  1864,  seven  Sisters,  with  Sister 
Theodora  McCormack  as  Superior,  took  charge  of  St.  Peter’s 
school  in  Troy.  This  was  already  well  organized  under  four 
lay  teachers  in  one  of  the  largest  parishes  in  the  diocese,  of  which 
the  pastor  was  Reverend  James  Keveny.  The  latter  had  con¬ 
sulted  with  Bishop  McCloskey  on  the  subject  of  his  school,  and 
found  the  Bishop  “well  pleased  with  my  preference  for  the 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph.”  4  In  addition  to  the  parish  school,  which 
numbered  four  hundred  children,  a  select  school  for  girls  was 
organized  as  in  several  of  the  other  parishes.  The  last  com¬ 
munity  sent  from  Carondelet  to  the  eastern  province  came  in 
1869  to  Lansingburg,  where  Reverend  Thomas  Galberry,  an 

4  Letter  of  Reverend  James  Keveny  to  Mother  Saint  John,  January  23, 
1862. 


214  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Augustinian,  a  future  Bishop  of  Hartford,  organized  his  school 
under  the  title  of  St.  Augustine’s  Free  Institute. 

In  the  meantime,  the  beloved  Bishop  McCloskey,  raised  to  the 
Archbishopric  of  New  York  in  1865,  was  replaced  by  Bishop 
Conroy.  With  the  sanction  of  the  latter,  a  new  provincial  house 
was  begun  in  Troy,  and  brought  to  completion  by  Mother  Assis- 
sium  Shockley,  at  that  time  Provincial  Superior.  To  procure 
the  funds  needed  for  so  great  an  undertaking  as  this  was  in  a 
small  eastern  town  in  the  middle  sixties  took  courage  and  great 
trust  in  Providence,  both  of  which  were  possessed  by  Mother 
Assissium.  She  was  the  descendant  on  her  father’s  side  of  an 
old  colonial  family  of  Delaware.  Her  maternal  ancestors  were 
Quakers,  who  had  emigrated  from  Pennsylvania  to  Baltimore 
after  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  had  thence  removed  to  a  new 
settlement  at  Guernsey,  Ohio.  Here  her  mother,  grown  to 
young  womanhood,  was  converted  to  the  Catholic  faith  by  the 
Dominican  missionary,  Father  Fenwick,  who,  with  his  nephew, 
Father  Dominic  Young,  was  giving  missions  in  that  part  of  Ohio. 

The  family  was  very  large,  and  noted  for  longevity,  two  of 
its  members  attaining  to  the  age  of  one  hundred  years.  The 
first  conversion  was  followed  in  the  course  of  time  by  the  entrance 
into  the  true  fold  of  relatives  to  the  number  of  fifty.  Mother 
Assissium  was  one  of  eleven  children,  and  was  born  at  Lancaster, 
Ohio  in  1831.  She  received  part  of  her  early  training  in  Cin¬ 
cinnati,  where  she  also  joined  the  Sodality  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.  This 
devotion  she  promoted  during  her  whole  religious  life,  which 
began  with  her  reception  of  the  habit  in  Carondelet  on  March  19, 
1857.  In  the  academy,  where  she  was  assigned  as  teacher  after 
her  profession,  she  was  instrumental  in  organizing  the  Sodality, 
which  received  its  diploma  of  aggregation  in  1865  over  the 
signature  of  the  distinguished  Jesuit  General,  Very  Reverend 
Peter  Beckx. 

When  she  undertook  to  build  in  Troy,  she  confidently  invoked 
the  aid  of  St.  Joseph,  promising  that  his  statue  should  adorn 


EXPANSION  EASTWARD 


215 


the  front  of  the  new  convent  when  finished.  Many  doubted 
that  the  statue  could  be  erected  without  a  hostile  demonstration, 
as  a  small  remnant  of  the  old  Know-Nothing  Party  was  accus¬ 
tomed  each  year  to  build  bonfires  on  the  frozen  Hudson  and 
burn  St.  Patrick  in  effigy  there.  The  building  was  completed 
and  the  statue  placed  in  position  with  imposing  ceremonies, 
Reverend  Clarence  Walworth,  a  well-known  Redemptorist  of 
Albany,  delivering  an  eloquent  address  to  the  assembled  Trojans. 
An  old  resident  of  the  parish,  visited  on  his  death-bed  the 
following  day  by  the  Sisters,  lifted  emaciated  hands  in  thanks¬ 
giving  that  he  had  lived  to  see  the  day  when  the  saints  of  God 
could  be  publicly  honored  without  fear  of  molestation  from  their 
enemies. 

In  addition  to  the  parish  school,  which  soon  secured  new  and 
larger  quarters,  a  private  academy  for  girls  was  inaugurated 
successfully  at  the  convent  in  1868.  This,  however,  with  similar 
private,  or  select,  schools  at  Albany,  Cohoes,  and  St.  Peter’s  in 
Troy,  gave  place  in  1883  to  the  larger  interests  of  the  parish 
schools,  which  were  yearly  growing  in  numbers  and  importance, 
and  which  from  that  time  became  almost  the  sole  work  of  the 
Sisters  in  the  Albany  diocese.  St.  Lawrence’s  in  Troy  began 
with  a  large  attendance  in  1874.  In  the  same  year,  the  historic 
old  town  of  Hudson,  and  in  1875,  Schenectady,  of  Indian- 
massacre  fame,  opened  their  schools,  St.  Mary’s  and  St.  Joseph’s 
respectively,  to  Sisters  from  the  Provincial  House  in  Troy.  In 
Schenectady,  where  the  pastor  was  a  converted  Hebrew,  learned 
and  pious,  but,  singular  to  relate,  with  little  or  no  financial 
ability,  the  second  German  school  in  the  province  was  commenced 
and  flourished  in  spite  of  many  discouraging  circumstances. 
In  1876,  St.  Michael’s  in  Troy  began  its  prosperous  career  in  the 
basement  of  the  church  built  in  that  parish  by  the  Jesuit  Fathers. 
The  classes  were  soon  crowded  out  of  those  quarters  and  trans¬ 
ferred  to  what  was  then  a  very  imposing  brick  school  completed 
by  the  Jesuits  just  before  their  departure  from  the  parish.  Their 
work  was  carried  on  by  members  of  the  diocesan  clergy,  the 


2 16  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 


first  of  whom  was  Father  James  Flood.  Sister  Annunciation 
O’Brien  was  the  first  Sister  in  charge  of  St.  Michael’s  School, 
which  fostered  numerous  vocations  to  the  priesthood  and  the 
religious  life,  and  claimed  among  its  past  pupils  as  the  years 
went  on,  many  men  and  women  remarkable  for  loyalty  to  church 
and  state. 

Belonging  to  the  Troy  Province  in  the  spring  of  1875  were 
one  hundred  and  seven  Sisters,  having  in  their  care  four  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  eleven  pupils.  Mother  Gonzaga  as  Provincial 
Superior  had  succeeded  Mother  Assissium,  recalled  to  Carondelet 
in  May  1869;  and  from  1877  to  1882,  Mother  Teresa  Louise 
Crowley,  an  enthusiastic  teacher  and  student,  directed  the  affairs 
of  the  province.  During  this  term,  in  1879,  was  established  the 
first  charitable  institution  under  the  Congregation  in  the  East, 
St.  Mary’s  Home  in  Binghamton,  supported  at  first  by  voluntary 
contribution,  but  later  by  state  aid. 

The  growth  of  Catholic  and  religious  sentiment  in  Troy  was 
illustrated  in  a  demonstration  on  May  22,  1879,  such  as  is  rarely 
witnessed,  and  of  which  the  convent  was  the  center.  On  that 
date  there  was  placed  in  the  chapel  of  the  novitiate  the  body 
of  the  Martyr,  St.  Theodora,  brought  from  Rome  by  Reverend 
Mother  Agatha  in  1877  and  given  to  the  Provincial  House  in 
Troy.  For  nine  days  beginning  on  May  13,  it  was  exposed  in 
the  Sanctuary  of  St.  Joseph’s  Church  in  Troy;  and  a  public 
novena  made  in  honor  of  the  saint  was  participated  in  by  thou¬ 
sands.  Of  the  solemn  ceremony  attending  the  translation  of 
the  relics  to  the  convent  chapel  on  May  22,  the  Troy  Press  of  the 
following  day,  characterizing  it  as  an  impressive  contradiction 
of  the  “idea  so  prevalent  in  our  day  that  we  have  outlived  the 
ages  of  faith,”  gave  a  glowing  account,  which  reads  in  part: 

At  four  o’clock  yesterday  afternoon,  the  block  in  front  of  St. 
Joseph’s  Church  was  filled  with  people,  and  within  the  portals  of 
the  church  standing  room  could  not  be  obtained.  The  altars  were 
ablaze  with  lights  and  redolent  with  the  fragrance  of  beautiful 
flowers.  The  sanctuary  was  filled  with  priests,  and  among  them, 


EXPANSION  EASTWARD 


217 


in  full  pontificals,  sat  the  Right  Reverend  Bishop  McNierney,  and 
the  chancellor  of  the  diocese,  Father  Collins  of  Albany.  In  the  pews 
to  right  and  left  could  be  seen  the  white  cornettes  of  the  Sisters  of 
Charity  and  the  black  veils  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  the  white 
dresses  of  the  Young  Ladies’  Sodality  and  the  blue  badges  of  the 
^  oung  Men’s.  From  the  pulpit  where  he  stood,  the  clear  tones  of 
Reverend  Father  Mooney’s  voice  filled  the  church.  With  an  elo¬ 
quence  born  of  fervor  and  sincerity,  he  spoke  of  the  catacombs 
of  Rome,  of  the  sufferings  of  the  primitive  Church,  of  those  days 
of  eighteen  hnudred  years  ago  when  the  faithful  gathered  in  dark 
chapels  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth  to  listen  to  the  teachings  of  a 
Peter  or  a  Paul ;  when  Popes  administered  the  Sacraments  to 
candidates  for  martyrdom ;  when  the  Church  was  in  her  infancy, 
yet  strong  and  enduring  as  she  is  today. 

The  sermon  concluded,  Benediction  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
was  given ;  and  then  followed  a  scene  which  must  have  recalled 
to  the  minds  of  the  beholders  all  that  they  had  read  or  dreamed  of 
early  Christian  times.  Through  the  opened  ranks  of  the  various 
societies,  the  shrine  containing  the  relics  was  borne  accompanied 
by  the  Bishop,  priests,5  acolytes,  and  Sisters,  bearing  lighted 
candles.  The  Litany  of  the  Saints  was  chanted  as  the  procession 
moved  slowly  through  the  reverent  crowds  that  lined  the  streets 
leading  to  the  convent,  “and  its  refrain  floated  out  through  the 
open  windows  long  after  the  last  glimmering  taper  in  the  line 
had  passed  from  sight.”  6  The  eager  public  was  later  admitted 
to  the  chapel,  where  “flowers  bloomed  on  every  side,  and 
peace  and  beauty  seemed  to  dwell  alike  within  its  hallowed 
walls.”  7 

Ten  years  later,  a  writer  in  the  above  mentioned  periodical 
recalled  to  the  minds  of  its  readers  “the  beautiful  May  mornings 
and  evenings  of  that  novena,”  when  Troy  welcomed  the  stranger 

5  The  Jesuit  Fathers,  Loyzance,  Nash,  Flynn,  Baxter  and  De  Laby,  and 
Fathers  Collins,  Lynch,  Mooney,  Swift,  Connolly,  Gavin,  Havermans,  Han- 
nett,  Ottenhues,  and  Drum. 

6  Troy  Press,  May  23,  1879. 

7  Ibid. 


218  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

saint  from  across  the  sea;  and  he  accredited  much  good  accom¬ 
plished  to  the  intercession  of  the  virgin  martyr ;  for 

When  the  sweet  story  of  her  life  became  familiar,  devotion  spread, 
mothers  named  their  little  children  in  her  honor,  and  taught  their 
older  ones  daily  to  ask  her  prayers.  That  she  has  blessed  the  house 
wherein  she  dwells,  who  can  doubt?  Quietly,  unobtrusively,  the 
lives  of  its  inmates  go  on,  the  peace  of  God  in  their  hearts,  His 
praises  on  their  lips,  and  His  blessing  upon  their  work.8 

The  schools  continued  to  advance  in  numbers  and  efficiency, 
and  on  all  sides  the  Sisters  won  friends  and  patronage.  In 
August  1 88 1,  at  the  request  of  Reverend  John  P.  Mclncrow  of 
Amsterdam,  New  York,  six  Sisters  were  sent  to  his  school, 
which  had  been  in  operation  for  several  years  under  secular 
teachers.  Sister  Genevieve  Horine,  as  Superior,  with  Sisters 
Columbine  Ryan,  M.  Sacred  Heart  Dwyer,  Stanislaus  Yedder, 
Adelaide  Melendez  and  Alice  Sheehan,  formed  the  first  commu¬ 
nity  of  St.  Mary’s  Institute,  as  the  school  was  called.  As  such 
it  was  chartered  under  the  Regents  of  the  University  of  New 
York,  setting  in  this  respect  a  precedent  which  was  followed 
by  all  the  schools  of  the  province.  Its  first  academic  graduates, 
bearing  the  Regent’s  diplomas,  were  sent  out  in  1885.  In  1886, 
Sister  Marcella  Manifold  was  appointed  Superior,  and  remained 
in  charge  of  St.  Mary’s  for  nineteen  years.  A  deep  and  untiring 
student,  capable  of  sustained  effort,  strongly  individual  and  with 
a  just  estimate  of  values  in  character  and  achievement,  Sister 
Marcella  infused  her  own  spirit  of  enthusiasm  into  pupils  and 
fellow  teachers,  and  left  nothing  undone  to  continue  and  expand 
the  good  work  begun  by  her  predecessors. 

In  the  short  space  of  three  years,  Mother  Mary  James  Mer- 
naugh,  Provincial  Superior  from  1882  to  1885,  won  the  love 
and  confidence  of  all  by  her  rare  gifts  and  her  eagerness  in 
contributing  by  every  means  in  her  power  to  the  happiness  of 
others.  She  was  in  her  thirtieth  year  when  placed  in  the  re- 


8  Troy  Press ,  Aug.  10,  1889. 


EXPANSION  EASTWARD 


219 


sponsible  position  as  Superior  of  a  province,  and  her  energy, 
piety  and  talents  gave  rich  promise  for  the  future;  but  her 
rapidly  failing  health  in  the  spring  of  188,5  was  the  occasion 
of  her  recall  to  the  Mother  House  in  Carondelet,  where  on 
June  19  her  lamented  death  occurred.  Brief  as  was  her  regime 
in  the  East,  several  important  missions  were  inaugurated  under 
her  auspices.  Six  Sisters  were  sent  on  January  22,  1883  to 
Glens  Falls,  which  they  reached  in  the  midst  of  a  blinding  snow¬ 
storm  ;  but  the  warm  welcome  they  received  was  in  strong  con¬ 
trast  to  their  rough  treatment  by  the  elements.  On  the  feast 
of  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  a  week  later,  they  took  charge  of  the 
boys  and  girls  of  St.  Mary's  parish.  The  phenomenal  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  school  in  both  grammar  and  high  school  departments 
made  other  buildings  necessary;  and  as  the  number  of  children 
increased,  the  Church  itself  became  too  small  to  hold  them  and 
their  elders.  A  church  building  near  by  belonging  to  a  Methodist 
congregation  was  secured  by  the  resourceful  pastor  of  St.  Mary’s, 
Father  Curtain,  and  converted  into  both  auditorium  and  chapel. 
For  thirty  years,  Sister  Florentine  Daly,  a  woman  of  exceptional 
ability  was  principal  of  St.  Mary’s,  contributing  to  the  enviable 
position  which  it  attained  as  the  largest  parochial  school  in  the 
Albany  diocese. 

In  August  1883,  Mother  Mary  James  accompanied  Sister 
Maria  Joseph  Hurley  and  her  community  of  six  teachers  to 
Syracuse,  where,  on  the  invitation  of  Reverend  Joseph  Guerdet, 
the  French  pastor,  the  same  who  had  welcomed  the  Sisters  to 
Oswego  twenty-five  years  before  on  their  first  arrival  in  the 
diocese,  they  took  charge  of  a  large  and  splendid  school  just 
erected  in  the  parish  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist.  This  was 
chosen  by  Bishop  Ludden  for  the  Cathedral  parish  three  years 
later,  when  Syracuse  became  an  episcopal  see;  and  the  school 
assumed  new  importance  under  the  guidance  of  his  \  icar-General, 
Monsignor  Lynch,  doubling  its  capacity  in  five  years  and  estab¬ 
lishing  academic  grades  chartered  under  the  Regents  in  1891. 
In  the  same  year  was  chartered  the  Watervliet  Academy,  also 


220  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

inaugurated  in  1883  with  humble  beginnings,  and  raised  to  a 
high  plane  of  efficiency  through  the  untiring  efforts  for  many 
years  of  Sister  Gertrude  Conway. 

To  the  wise  government  of  Mother  Mary  John  Carey,  ap¬ 
pointed  Provincial  Superior  in  1885,  was  due  the  advancement 
of  the  Congregation  in  the  East  from  that  date  until  her  death 
in  1904.  Mother  Mary  John  had  received  the  habit  at  the 
Mother  House  in  1864,  being  then  in  her  twentieth  year.  She 
was  sent  to  the  aid  of  the  eastern  missions,  and  after  filling  the 
office  of  Superior  at  St.  Bernard’s  Academy  in  Cohoes  from 
1877  until  1882,  she  was  sent  to  Troy  as  Assistant-Provincial, 
proving  of  invaluable  assistance  to  Mother  Mary  James  until  the 
latter’s  removal  in  1885.  Mother  Mary  John  was  a  zealous  and 
humble  superior,  whose  beautiful  life  was  an  inspiration  to  all 
who  had  the  privilege  of  knowing  her.  Towards  all  who  sought 
either  material  or  spiritual  aid  from  her,  her  great  heart  over¬ 
flowed  with  charity,  “its  motherly  instinct  making  her  quick  to 
detect  pain  of  mind  or  body,  and  prompt  to  relieve  it  by  every 
means  in  her  power.”  9  Her  rare  judgment,  good  common 
sense  and  fine  executive  ability  won  commendations  from  business 
and  professional  men  with  whom  she  had  dealings,  and  by  whom 
she  was  always  held  in  high  esteem. 

The  special  object  of  her  love  and  care  was  the  novitiate. 
She  encouraged  religious  vocations,  and  watched  diligently  over 
the  training  of  the  young  members,  into  whose  minds  and  hearts 
she  ceaselessly  endeavored  to  instill  her  own  love  of  Rule  and 
religious  discipline  and  her  zeal  for  promoting  God’s  glory  at 
any  sacrifice.  Naturally  reserved  in  disposition,  she  disliked 
personal  notice,  which  was  to  her  a  source  of  great  mortification ; 
but  she  cultivated  friends  for  the  Congregation  among  the  clergy 
and  also  persons  of  the  world,  whose  spiritual  interests  she  was 
always  ready  to  serve.  Little  children  she  loved  tenderly ;  and 
mindful  of  their  future  careers,  she  spared  no  pains  to  further 
the  success  of  the  schools  and  the  improvement  of  the  teachers, 


9  Necrology ,  IQ04. 


EXPANSION  EASTWARD 


22 1 


devoting  herself  whole-heartedly  to  building  up  the  institutions 
under  her  charge.  There  was  no  part  of  the  wide  field  assigned 
her  by  obedience  that  did  not  receive  her  personal  and  practical 
attention;  and  her  own  many  talents  were  made  to  yield  each 
its  hundred  fold. 

To  the  one  benevolent  institution  in  the  province,  St.  Mary’s 
Home  in  Binghamton,  she  added  St.  Joseph’s  Home  in  Troy 
and  St.  Mary’s  Hospital  in  Amsterdam.  The  former  was  under¬ 
taken  at  the  request  of  the  officials  in  charge  of  providing  for 
the  city’s  poor.  These  men,  finding  among  Troy’s  many  char¬ 
ities  no  place  where  homeless  and  forsaken  infants  were  being 
cared  for,  appealed  in  1872  to  Mother  Mary  John.  On  an 
eminence  south  of  Troy  overlooking  the  Hudson  and  the  sur¬ 
rounding  country,  she  had  secured  in  1889  a  farm  of  one  hun¬ 
dred  acres,  and  on  this  ideal  location,  called  Glenmore,  had 
erected  Loretto  Convent,  a  retreat  for  the  aged  and  infirm 
Sisters  of  the  province.  A  second  house  on  the  Glenmore  farm, 
a  small  dwelling,  was  now  thrown  open  as  a  temporary  home 
for  the  little  waifs,  who  were  brought  in  such  numbers  that  in 
1895,  with  the  assistance  of  interested  friends,  the  community 
secured  possession  of  the  Winslow  Estate,  which  crowned  a 
neighboring  hill.  Its  fine  residence  was  remodelled,  and  the 
little  ones  transferred  to  it  from  Glenmore  in  July. 

They  had  been  scarcely  five  months  in  their  new  home,  when, 
in  December,  1895,  it  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  sympathy  of 
the  city  was  extended  to  the  Sisters  in  their  distress,  and  in  so 
practical  a  manner  that  in  a  very  short  time  a  large  and  model 
structure  rose  on  the  ruins  of  the  old  homestead.  Mother  Mary 
John  superintended  the  building  of  the  new  St.  Joseph’s  Home, 
in  which  nothing  was  overlooked  that  could  conduce  to  the  health 
and  comfort  of  the  children.  It  was  placed  under  the  city 
Board  of  Charities,  with  the  agreement  that  boys  and  girls  to 
the  age  of  eight  years  would  be  received,  the  former  to  be  then 
transferred  to  the  Christian  Brothers,  the  latter  to  the  Daughters 
of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul. 


222  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

St.  Mary’s  Hospital  in  Amsterdam,  the  only  one  in  that  city 
under  Catholic  auspices,  established  in  1903  through  the  efforts 
of  Reverend  Father  Browne,  pastor  of  St.  Mary’s  parish,  was 
supplied  by  Mother  Mary  John  with  an  efficient  staff  of  nurses 
in  charge  of  Sister  Mathilda  Donovan,  whose  great  charity  for 
the  sick  and  suffering  eminently  fitted  her  for  the  direction  of 
this  work.  It  had  been  in  successful  operation  for  six  years, 
when  Right  Reverend  Bishop  Burke  of  Albany  urged  on  Mother 
Mary  John  the  necessity  of  hospital  work  in  connection  with 
St.  Joseph’s  Home  in  Troy,  where  extensive  additions  were 
being  made.  His  request  was  complied  with,  the  new  institution, 
incorporated  under  its  own  special  board  of  directors,  serving 
also  as  a  practical  training  school  for  nurses. 

Large  schools  were  commenced  at  St.  Patrick’s,  Troy,  in  1889; 
Little  Falls  in  1890;  Hoosick  Falls  in  1891;  and  in  1893  at 
Syracuse,  where  St.  Lucy’s  Academy  soon  increased  its  original 
staff  of  six  teachers  to  twenty-two.  Saratoga  Springs,  which 
had  maintained  a  school  from  1862  to  1882  and  then  discon¬ 
tinued  it  owing  to  various  adverse  circumstances,  received  a 
community  of  Sisters  again  in  1900,  Mother  Mary  John  accom¬ 
panying  the  band  to  their  destination  in  St.  Peter’s  parish  and 
leaving  Sister  Clara  Denihan  in  charge. 

These,  with  other  schools  of  the  province,  following  the 
example  of  St.  Mary’s  Institute  in  Amsterdam,  the  first  to  secure 
the  incorporation  of  its  high  school  under  the  State  Board,  were 
chartered  as  academies  by  the  Regents  of  New  York  University. 
The  Cathedral  School  in  Albany,  incorporated  in  1892,  grew  to 
enormous  proportions  under  the  direction  for  twenty-four  years 
of  Sister  Rose  Aurelia  Higgins,  frail  and  delicate  in  body,  but 
tireless  in  energy,  and  attained  an  enviable  reputation  for  ef¬ 
ficiency;  while  St.  Joseph’s  Academy  in  Troy,  its  charter  dating 
from  1896,  ranks  as  one  of  the  largest  in  the  Albany  diocese, 
registering  over  one  thousand  pupils  with  twenty-two  teachers. 
On  the  departure  of  the  Christian  Brothers  from  Troy  in  1901, 
their  classes  were  taken  over  by  the  Sisters,  and  commercial 


EXPANSION  EASTWARD 


223 


courses  inaugurated,  fitting  many  for  successful  business  life. 

For  nineteen  years  Mother  Mary  John  was  the  central  force 
in  all  these  activities.  The  province  developed  under  her  strong 
guiding  hand  and  the  influence  of  her  generous  heart.  Gifted 
with  great  discernment,  she  was  happy  in  the  choice  of  Sisters 
for  responsible  positions,  and  able  superiors  aided  her  on  all 
sides,  faithfully  carrying  out  her  plans  and  encouraging  her  by 
their  loyal  support.  Two  of  her  councillors  during  a  great 
part  of  this  time  were  Sister  Esperance  Qualey,  a  woman  of 
rare  sweetness  and  strength  of  character,  and  Sister  M.  Annun¬ 
ciation  O’Brien,  who  remained  a  member  of  the  Provincial 
Council  for  over  thirty  years.  In  the  summer  of  1904,  Mother 
Mary  John  was  attacked  by  a  serious  illness  which  was  a  source 
of  general  anxiety.  She  herself,  however,  filled  with  a  great 
desire  to  live  and  labor,  struggled  bravely  against  increasing 
weakness  and  disease,  and  was  the  last  to  give  up  hope.  When 
convinced  that  death  was  imminent,  she  accepted  it  with  heroic 
resignation,  and  yielded  up  her  strong  soul  on  the  morning  of 
All  Saints’  Day. 

Her  successor,  Mother  Odilia  Bogan,  was  a  woman  of  charm¬ 
ing  personality,  whose  sweet  disposition  and  kind  heart  drew 
others  irresistibly  towards  her.  God’s  will  was  the  strong  mo¬ 
tive  power  of  her  life,  and  she  worked  towards  its  accomplish¬ 
ment  with  a  clearness  of  vision  born  of  great  faith.  During 
her  ten  years’  government  of  the  province,  she  strove  to  keep 
alive  the  spirit  of  zealous  devotion  to  duty  infused  into  it  by 
her  predecessor.  The  physical,  intellectual,  and  spiritual  interests 
of  Sisters  and  children  were  subjects  of  her  continual  solicitude; 
and  to  the  promotion  of  these  she  bent  all  her  endeavors,  too 
broad  in  her  views  of  life  to  be  discouraged  by  any  trial  or 
difficulty.  The  same  story  of  increasing  numbers,  added  facil¬ 
ities,  and  progress  towards  ultimate  success  traced  by  the  schools 
up  to  1905,  was  repeated  during  her  decade  of  office.  In  1907, 
Sister  Julia  Ford  was  appointed  provincial  directress  of  schools, 
and  with  her  wide  experience  both  in  New  York  and  in  the 


224  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Western  States,  aided  materially  in  unifying  the  work  of  the 
teachers,  and  in  keeping  the  academies  up  to  the  standard  re¬ 
quired  by  their  charters. 

The  addition  to  the  school  list  in  1907  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales’ 
Academy  in  Utica,  which  increased  its  faculty  in  ten  years  from 
five  to  nineteen  Sisters,  and  of  St.  Ann’s  in  Albany  with  an  enroll¬ 
ment  in  1908  of  six  hundred  and  eleven  pupils,  brought  the 
number  of  children  under  the  care  of  the  Sisters  in  the  province 
in  1909  up  to  twelve  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifteen.  There 
were  at  this  time  three  hundred  and  sixty  professed  Sisters 
belonging  to  the  Provincial  House  in  Troy,  fifty-eight  of  whom 
were  located  there,  together  with  forty  novices  and  ten  postulants. 
The  community  had  outgrown  the  old  St.  Joseph’s  Convent. 
A  new  novitiate  was  felt  to  be  an  imperative  need.  Glenmore 
was  considered  by  Mother  Odilia  and  her  Council  as  a  suitable 
location ;  but  it  was  difficult  of  access.  Nearer  to  the  city  and 
more  convenient  was  the  old  ecclesiastical  Seminary. 

This,  built  in  1856  as  a  Methodist  College  under  the  name  of 
Troy  University,  stood  on  a  hill  overlooking  the  city  and  the 
Hudson,  its  four  tall  spires  outlined  against  the  eastern  sky. 
Loss  of  patronage  followed  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  which 
requisitioned  many  professors  and  students  of  the  University; 
and  the  building,  sold  for  debt  in  1862,  was  bought  up  by  Rev¬ 
erend  Peter  Havermans,  acting  for  Archbishop  Hughes  of  New 
York.  It  was  converted  by  the  latter  into  a  Seminary  for  the 
ecclesiastical  province  of  which  he  was  the  head  ;  and  as  such, 
under  the  patronage  of  St.  Joseph,  it  continued  until  the  opening 
of  Dunwoodie  in  1896.  It  remained  the  property  of  the  Arch¬ 
diocese  of  New  York,  tenanted  for  a  time  by  a  community  of 
Dominican  nuns,  left  homeless  by  a  fire  that  destroyed  their 
orphanage  at  Sparkhill ;  and  later  used  by  the  Italians  of  the 
diocese  as  a  preparatory  Seminary.  It  was  sadly  in  need  of 
repair,  but  Mother  Odilia  saw  its  possibilities  as  a  future  home 
for  her  novices ;  and  though  reckoning  the  cost,  which  she  knew 
would  be  great,  she  determined  to  possess  it.  Discouraged  at 


st.  Joseph’s  seminary  and  provincial  house,  troy,  new  York 


EXPANSION  EASTWARD 


225 


first  on  account  of  the  outlay  that  would  be  necessary  to  put  it 
in  good  condition,  she  gently  persisted  in  her  purpose,  feeling 
that  the  investment  would  be  a  wise  one;  and  success  crowned 
her  efforts. 

In  1908,  she  secured  the  building,  but  four  years  elapsed  from 
the  date  of  purchase  before  the  repairs  were  completed,  and  the 
finished  structure,  still  to  be  known  as  St.  Joseph’s  Seminary, 
was  dedicated  with  imposing  ceremonies.  These  took  place  on 
December  11,  1912,  when  His  Eminence,  Cardinal  Farley,  blessed 
anew  the  building  first  consecrated  to  its  holy  purpose  by  one 
of  his  illustrious  predecessors,  Cardinal  McCloskey,  then  Bishop 
of  Albany.  Bishop  Burke  was  the  assisting  prelate,  and  a  large 
concourse  of  priests  assembled  from  all  parts  of  the  State. 
Many  of  these,  as  well  as  the  Cardinal,  had  made  their  studies 
in  the  old  Seminary,  and  the  occasion  and  the  gathering  were 
notable.  Pontifical  Mass,  with  a  choir  composed  of  clergy,  fol¬ 
lowed  the  dedication;  and  Monsignor  John  Walsh,  the  reverend 
speaker  of  the  day,  peopled  the  historic  chapel  in  retrospect  with 
students  and  professors  of  olden  times,  and  noted  the  appro¬ 
priateness  of  the  Seminary’s  present  use,  “where  instead  of  the 
priest,  there  will  be  trained  the  religious  teacher,  whose  influence 
will  awaken  and  guide  vocations  to  the  priesthood.”  He  paid 
a  graceful  tribute  to  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph,  so  many  of 
whose  former  pupils  had  received  ordination  in  the  sanctuary 
where  he  now  stood : 

We  who  spent  our  earlier  years  with  them,  and  found  our  voca¬ 
tions  nourished  by  the  purity,  beauty  and  devotedness  of  their  lives, 
know  and  acknowledge  their  worth,  and  rejoice  that  the  home  of 
our  youth  has  gone  over  into  the  possession  of  those  who  prove 
how  much  they  prize  it  by  the  colossal  sacrifices  they  have  made 
to  own  and  reconstruct  it. 

In  the  reconstruction  of  the  Seminary,  the  principal  features 
were  preserved,  the  exterior  of  the  main  building  being  left 
unchanged  except  for  a  coating  of  cement  stucco  and  the  addition 


226  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

of  a  large  and  attractive  entrance.  Two  annexes  at  the  ex¬ 
tremities  on  the  north  and  south  were  entirely  rebuilt,  increasing 
the  length  of  the  structure  to  three  hundred  and  sixty  feet.  The 
interior,  which  was  almost  wholly  renewed,  consisted  of  spacious' 
north,  south  and  central  pavilions,  connected  by  intervening  sec¬ 
tions  of  classrooms,  studies  and  dormitories  arranged  along 
corridors  extending  through  the  building  on  a  north  and  south 
axis.  The  chapel,  occupying  the  second  and  third  floors  of  the 
central  pavilion,  was  kept  in  its  original  state,  care  being  taken  to 
preserve  the  old  pews,  and  the  carved  wooden  altars  and  statues, 
all  of  Belgian  workmanship. 

In  February  following  its  dedication,  Archbishop  Ireland  of 
St.  Paul,  and  Bishops  McGolrick  of  Duluth  and  O’Gorman  of 
Sioux  City,  Iowa,  were  guests  of  the  Seminary,  and  during  their 
stay  visited  many  of  the  institutions  of  Troy  and  Albany,  ex¬ 
pressing  their  great  appreciation  of  the  results  accomplished  by 
the  Sisters  in  those  places.  The  first  ceremony  of  religious 
profession  in  the  chapel  of  the  Seminary  took  place  March  26, 
1913;  and  on  April  16  following,  one  hundred  and  sixty  clergy¬ 
men,  including  many  bishops  and  monsignori,  assembled  to 
celebrate  at  their  old  Alma  Mater  the  thirteenth  annual  reunion 
of  the  Alumni  Association  of  St.  Joseph’s  Ecclesiastical  Sem¬ 
inary.  The  venerable  Bishop  Gabriels,  the  rector  of  1871,  pon¬ 
tificated  at  the  solemn  High  Mass,  and  Bishop  Nilan  of  Hartford 
presided  over  the  business  meetings.  The  Association  subscribed 
a  generous  donation  for  the  new  novitiate;  and  a  bronze  tablet, 
designed  by  Reverend  Francis  P.  Moore  of  the  class  of  1884, 
and  inscribed  with  the  names  of  the  founder,  patrons  and  facul¬ 
ties  from  1864  to  1896,  was  erected  on  the  north  wall  of  the 
foyer.  At  a  similar  gathering  on  May  5  of  the  following  year, 
the  opening  Mass  was  celebrated  by  Bishop  Colton  of  Buffalo. 

Mother  Odilia  did  not  long  survive  the  crowning  achievement 
of  her  ten  years’  successful  labors  as  Provincial  Superior.  For 
several  years  she  had  been  a  sufferer  from  a  serious  heart  affec- 


COLLEGE  OF  ST.  ROSE  OF  LIMA,  ALBANY,  NEW  YORK 


EXPANSION  EASTWARD 


227 


tion,  which  became  acute  in  the  beginning  of  1915.  The  opening 
months  of  this  year  she  spent  in  St.  Paul,  where  experienced 
physicians  and  skilled  community  nurses  sought,  by  every 
scientific  means  known  to  them,  to  ward  off  a  fatal  disease  and 
prolong  her  useful  life.  When  hope  could  no  longer  be  held 
out  for  her  recovery,  she  was  brought  back  by  her  own  request 
to  Troy.  The  private  car  of  John  D.  Ryan  of  New  York, 
brother  of  the  Superior-General,  Reverend  Mother  Agnes 
Gonzaga,  was  placed  at  her  disposal  for  this  last  long  journey, 
which,  accompanied  by  her  nurses  and  other  members  of  the 
community,  she  made  with  all  possible  speed,  to  the  anxious 
hearts  awaiting  her  arrival  in  Troy.  Her  death  occurred  at  the 
Provincial  House  there  on  April  26,  1915,  in  the  midst  of  her 
sorrowing  Sisters.  Her  successor  was  Mother  Irene  Tyrrell, 
who,  as  her  loyal  and  devoted  assistant  during  ten  years,  had 
given  evidence  of  fine  executive  ability  as  well  as  of  a  deeply 
religious  nature  and  of  true  spiritual  vision.  Mother  Irene  re¬ 
signed  after  two  years  on  account  of  failing  health. 

The  number  of  schools  was  increased  between  1910  and  1917 
by  St.  Patrick’s  in  Syracuse  (1911);  St.  John  the  Baptist’s, 
Troy,  (1912)  ;  Sts.  Cyril  and  Methodius  for  the  Slavic  children 
of  Binghamton,  (1912);  St.  Agnes  Academy,  Utica  (1913); 
St  Anthony’s  Italian  School,  Troy  (1914);  St.  Peter’s,  Rome 
(1915);  St.  Vincent  de  Paul’s,  Syracuse  (1915),  and  St.  John 
the  Evangelist’s,  Oswego  (1916).  A  new  department  of  work 
was  inaugurated  in  the  Day  Home  at  Albany  in  1917.  Under 
Mother  Irene’s  successor,  Mother  Margaret  Mary  Collins,  St. 
Patrick’s  School  in  Utica,  St.  Francis  de  Sales  in  Troy,  and  the 
College  of  St.  Rose  of  Lima  in  Albany  were  begun.  The 
College  of  St.  Rose  was  established  in  response  to  the  urgent 
requests  of  both  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  diocese.  With  the 
approval  and  encouragement  of  its  Honorary  President,  Right 
Reverend  Edward  F.  Gibbons,  Bishop  of  Albany,  the  Sisters 
obtained  a  charter  from  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  University 


228  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

of  New  York,  empowering  the  college  to  grant  degrees  in  arts, 
music  and  science.  In  the  third  year  of  its  existence,  (1922) 
it  enrolled  fifty  students  in  freshman,  sophomore  and  junior 
classes. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


THE  CONGREGATION  IN  THE  NORTH  (1858-1922) 

There  were  eighteen  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  in  Minnesota  in 
1858.  These  were  located  in  St.  Paul  and  St.  Anthony,  and 
were  conducting  two  academies,  a  hospital  and  two  parochial 
schools,  under  the  direction  of  Mother  Seraphine  Coughlin,  who 
was  closely  associated  with  the  early  growth  of  the  Congregation 
in  the  North. 

On  December  8,  1858,  Monsignor  Ravoux,  Administrator  of 
the  diocese  after  the  death  of  the  venerable  Bishop  Cretin  in 
1857,  assisted  at  the  ceremony  in  the  chapel  of  the  novitiate 
when  two  postulants,  Ellen  Ireland  and  Ellen  Howard,  received 
the  habit  of  the  Congregation  and  the  names  respectively  of 
Sister  Seraphine  and  Sister  Celestine.  These  young  girls  were 
the  sister  and  the  cousin  of  John  Ireland,  future  Archbishop 
of  St.  Paul,  whom  Monsignor  Ravoux  at  the  bidding  of  Bishop 
Cretin,  had  accompanied  a  few  years  before  to  the  Seminary 
of  Meximieux  in  France.  They  had  been  pupils  at  the  academy 
from  1852  to  June  1858,  when  they  were  among  its  first  grad¬ 
uates,  receiving  their  graduation  honors  privately,  as  at  that 
time  the  institution  was  not  incorporated.  They  had  finished 
the  course  then  taught  in  English  and  French,  and  entered  the 
novitiate  in  September,  each  in  her  seventeenth  year.  Mon¬ 
signor  Ravoux  grew  eloquent  over  the  ceremony  on  December  8, 
the  first  time  in  St.  Paul  that  two  had  received  the  habit  on  the 
same  day.  It  was  also  the  only  occasion  of  the  kind  at  which 
he  presided. 

The  successor  of  Bishop  Cretin  arrived  the  following  summer 
in  the  person  of  Right  Reverend  Thomas  L.  Grace,  who,  imme¬ 
diately  after  his  consecration  by  Archbishop  Kenrick  in  St.  Louis 

on  July  26,  started  north  by  the  usual  means  of  travel,  the 

229 


230  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Mississippi  river  steamer,  and  reached  St.  Paul  on  July  29. 
Here  his  arrival  was  awaited  from,  early  morning  by  the  Cathe¬ 
dral  congregation,  assembled  on  the  river  bank.  When  the 
whistle  was  heard  announcing  the  approach  of  the  boat  that  bore 
the  new  prelate,  the  church  bells  rang  out  a  great  peal,  and  the 
entire  population  of  the  city  flocked  to  welcome  him  and  conduct 
him  to  his  episcopal  church.  This,  commenced  by  Bishop  Cretin 
and  pushed  almost  to  completion  by  Monsignor  Ravoux,  was  still 
unplastered.  The  bare  walls  of  the  interior  were  decorated  for 
the  occasion  with  branches  of  tamarack,  and  great  boughs  of 
tamarack  lined  each  side  of  the  central  aisle,  up  which  the  Bishop 
was  escorted  to  the  altar  for  a  brief  address  to  his  assembled  flock. 

Bishop  Grace  lost  no  time  in  manifesting  the  deep  interest 
which  he,  like  his  predecessor,  felt  in  the  organizing  of  Catholic 
schools.  To  those  above  mentioned  there  had  been  added  during 
the  brief  administration  of  Monsignor  Ravoux  a  school  for  the 
children  of  the  Assumption  parish.  The  German  congregation 
there  had  built  a  church,  but  having  no  school  building,  they 
were  given  the  use  of  one  of  two  small  brick  houses  on  the  hos¬ 
pital  grounds.  Sister  Radegonda  Proff,  sent  from  Carondelet 
in  1858,  took  charge  of  this  one  room  school;  and  in  the  second 
house,  Sister  Margaret  Sinsalmeyer,  who  accompanied  her  every 
day  from  the  academy  on  Bench  Street,  taught  a  free  elementary 
school  for  the  girls  of  the  Cathedral  parish.  The  Indian  school 
at  Long  Prairie  was  closed  before  the  death  of  Bishop  Cretin. 
The  officials  at  the  agency  raised  many  difficulties,  even  refusing 
at  times  to  deliver  food  and  clothing  to  the  children;  and  the 
Bishop  was  often  obliged  to  advance  the  necessary  means  for 
their  support.1  On  the  removal  of  the  Winnebagos  to  a  new 
agency  at  Blue  Earth  in  the  extreme  southern  part  of  the  state 
in  1855,  the  Sisters  returned  from  Long  Prairie  to  St.  Paul. 
Sister  Scholastica  Vasques,  the  pioneer  of  this  first  Indian  mis¬ 
sion  of  the  Congregation,  was  broken  in  health,  and  was  after¬ 
wards  recalled  to  St.  Louis. 


1  Cf.,  CLARKE,  op.  cit.y  p.  425. 


THE  NORTHERN  MISSIONS 


231 


Bishop  Grace  soon  transferred  the  girls’  free  school  which  had 
outgrown  its  one-room  abode,  to  the  basement  of  the  Cathedral, 
where  both  boys  and  girls  were  placed  under  the  care  of  four 
Sisters  in  what  was  henceforth  known  as  the  Cathedral  School. 
Seeing  the  crowded  condition  of  the  academy,  still  occupying  its 
primitive  buildings  on  the  old  church  site,  he  arranged  for  a  tem¬ 
porary  exchange  of  houses,  and  the  classes  were  transferred  to 
the  large  stone  hospital,  the  few  patients  from  there  being  re¬ 
moved  to  the  school,  which  was  made  suitable  for  their  accom¬ 
modation.  The  change  of  quarters  proved  of  great  advantage 
to  the  academy,  and  the  fall  term  of  1859  began  with  increased 
numbers.  A  site  for  a  new  building  was  secured  in  i860  on 
St.  Anthony  Hill,  then  just  within  the  limits  of  the  city,  and  the 
foundation  laid  the  following  year. 

In  the  meantime,  on  the  establishment  of  the  St.  Louis  Gen- 
eralate  in  i860,  the  academy  was  made  the  Provincial  House, 
and  Mother  Seraphine  Coughlin  was  appointed  first  Provincial 
Superior  of  St.  Paul.  Mother  Seraphine  commenced  the  new 
academy  and  novitiate,  but  did  not  live  to  see  its  completion. 
For  several  years  she  had  been  in  failing  health,  due  to  the  hard¬ 
ships  of  pioneer  life  in  the  rigorous  northern  climate.  It  was 
partly  on  this  account  that  she  had  resigned  the  office  of  Superior 
in  Carondelet  when  elected  to  it  by  the  Sisters  on  the  death  of 
the  revered  Mother  Celestine  Pommerel  in  1857.  In  January 
1861,  she  drove  to  the  convent  in  St.  Anthony  in  order  to  accom¬ 
pany  back  to  St.  Paul  an  invalid  Sister;  and  during  the  long, 
cold  ride,  heedless  of  her  own  comfort,  she  bestowed  all  her  care 
on  her  suffering  companion.  A  severe  cold  which  she  then  con¬ 
tracted  brought  on  a  lingering  and  painful  illness,  which  resulted 
fatally  on  August  1,  1861. 

The  Sisters  of  the  St.  Paul  Province  sustained  a  heavy  loss 
in  the  death  of  their  beloved  Superior,  taken  from  them  in  her 
thirty-fifth  year.  For  eight  years  she  had  labored  untiringly, 
giving  herself  with  zeal  and  energy  to  her  numerous  duties  in 
the  promotion  of  both  charity  and  education.  To  her  share  had 


232  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

fallen  many  of  the  wearying  experiences  and  the  discouragements 
of  early  days;  but  while  her  bodily  strength  remained,  her  spirit 
kept  up  unbroken,  for  she  belonged  to  that  period  of  which 
Archbishop  Ireland  writes: 

In  the  Diocese  of  St.  Paul,  those  days  of  long  ago  were  pre¬ 
eminently  days  of  boundless  zeal,  of  ardent  faith,  of  unstinted 
charity,  of  holiest  simplicity,  of  deepest  consecration  to  the  service 
of  religion.  The  first  Bishop  of  St.  Paul  was  the  high  exemplar 
and  leader  of  all ;  the  missionaries  who  stood  by  him  did  not  fall 
much  below  his  stature ;  the  sheep  whom  they  shepherded  partook 
of  their  spirit.  Into  such  a  community  came  the  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph,  ready,  by  reason  of  their  exalted  souls,  to  breathe  its  atmos¬ 
phere  and  enrich  it  with  the  perfume  of  their  consecrated  woman¬ 
hood.2 

Mother  Seraphine’s  successor  was  Mother  Stanislaus  Saul, 
who  had  been  for  three  years  Superior  in  Oswego,  New  York, 
and  who  did  not  arrive  in  St.  Paul  until  April  1862,  Sister  Helena 
Coerver  administering  the  affairs  of  the  province  in  the  interval. 
In  the  novitiate  during  this  period  were  Sisters  Agnes  Veronica 
Williams,  Aloysia  Shelley,  Mary  Pius  Sexton,  Columba  Auge, 
and  Aurelia  Bracken,  and  to  these  were  soon  added  Sisters 
Josephine  Gleason,  Scholastica  Duggan,  and  Mary  Austin  Egan. 
Apart  from  increasing  numbers,  an  encouraging  feature  of  the 
novitiate  was  the  reception  into  it  of  the  Sisters’  own  pupils, 
nearly  all  of  the  above  being  former  students  of  the  academies 
in  St.  Paul  and  St.  Anthony. 

At  the  former  when  the  new  Provincial  arrived  were  forty  day 
pupils  and  fifteen  boarders,  including  two  daughters  of  a  Sioux 
chieftain,  Hole-in-the-Day,  who  were  the  cause  of  much  anxiety 
to  teachers  and  pupils  during  the  Sioux  uprising  in  1862.  They 
were  visited  at  intervals  by  their  brother,  Ignace,  a  pupil  of  the 
Benedictines,  who  adopted  the  manner  of  life  which  he  deemed 
suitable  to  a  royal  prince,  driving  to  the  convent  in  a  coach  be- 

2  archbishop  Ireland,  Our  Consecrated  Sisterhoods,  p.  7.  St.  Paul,  1902. 


THE  NORTHERN  MISSIONS 


233 


hind  high-stepping  horses.  He  was  afterwards  assassinated  by 
members  of  his  tribe,  who  resented  his  advanced  ideas.  Typical 
of  the  old  and  new  order  of  civilization  in  the  North  were  these 
two  girls.  Isabel,  the  younger,  spirited  and  impulsive,  was  with 
much  difficulty  persuaded  on  her  entrance  into  school  to  part  with 
the  small  and  shining  bowie  knife  which  she  had  been  accustomed 
to  carry  about  with  her,  a  treasured  but  dangerous  toy.  Her 
elder  sister,  resembling  in  piety  and  gentleness  another  Indian 
maiden,  the  Lily  of  the  Mohawks,  became  an  apostle  of  the 
Faith  among  her  people,  loved  and  reverenced  by  them. 

In  the  progress  of  the  pupils  Bishop  Grace  took  a  lively 
interest,  conducting  the  oral  examinations  quarterly  in  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  parents  and  friends  assembled  in  the  study  hall,  and 
distributing  the  honors  at  the  annual  closing  exercises  on  the 
lawn.  In  July  1863,  the  central  wing  of  the  new  academy  was 
completed.  Built  of  yellow  limestone,  and  three  and  a  half 
stories  in  height,  it  presented  an  imposing  appearance  to  the 
residents  of  St.  Paul  at  that  time.  Sunny  parlors  flanked  the 
entrance  hall,  which  led  to  the  library  and  music  room  combined, 
and  from  which  the  stairway  ran  to  chapel  and  class  rooms  on 
the  second  floor  and  dormitories  on  the  third.  The  convent  was 
later  enlarged  by  successive  additions,  extensive  wings  being 
built  at  the  sides  and  full  fourth  story  in  the  center;  but  in  the 
fall  of  1863,  it  was  amply  sufficient  for  both  novitiate  and  aca¬ 
demy.  The  latter  was  conducted  for  the  next  few  years  almost 
exclusively  as  a  boarding  school,  the  location  being  considered 
too  far  out  of  the  city  for  day  pupils  to  attend. 

In  1866,  two  Sisters  were  sent  from  the  academy  to  establish, 
under  the  title  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  the  first  Catholic 
school  in  Minneapolis,  at  that  time  distinguished  from  St.  An¬ 
thony  Falls,  now  East  Minneapolis ;  and  in  the  following  year, 
at  the  request  of  Father  Genis,  three  Sisters  took  charge  of  the 
district  school  at  Mendota,  occupying  the  old  home  of  Minnesota’s 
first  Governor,  General  Warren  Hastings  Sibley.  This  eventu¬ 
ally  gave  place  to  a  parish  school,  from  which,  as  it  was  indif- 


234  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

ferently  supported,  the  Sisters  were  withdrawn  in  1879.  The 
incorporation  of  an  orphanage  for  girls  in  St.  Paul  in  1869,  and 
of  another  for  boys  at  Minneapolis  in  1878;  the  opening  of  the 
Guardian  Angels  School,  Hastings,  Minnesota,  in  1872,  of  St. 
Michael’s  Convent,  Stillwater,  in  1873,  and  of  Holy  Angels’ 
Academy  in  St.  Paul  in  1877,  attest  the  growing  strength  of  the 
province  under  the  successive  Provincial  Superiors,  Mother 
George  Bradley3  from  1865  to  1868;  Mother  Antoinette  Ogg 
from  1868  to  1870;  Mother  Mechtida  Littenecker,  who  served 
in  that  capacity  for  two  terms,  from  1870  to  1876;  and  Mother 
Agnes  Veronica  Williams,  whose  administration  was  limited  to 
the  period  between  1876  and  1879. 

The  Provincial  Superior  from  1879  to  J882  was  Mother  Jane 
Frances  Bochet.  She  was  a  native  of  France,  where  she  received 
the  habit  of  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  in  1861.  Coming  to 
Carondelet  in  1866,  she  was  sent  a  few  years  later  to  St.  Paul,  and 
there  filled  successively  the  office  of  mistress  of  novices,  Superior 
at  St.  Anthony’s  Convent,  and  at  St.  Joseph’s  Hospital  in  St. 
Paul.  With  large  hearted  generosity  she  united  shrewd  financial 
ability  and  a  capacity  for  doing  great  things  in  an  unobtrusive 
way.  She  won  the  love  of  the  Sisters  everywhere  and  left  no 
means  unprovided  for  training  the  teachers  and  young  Sisters. 
Sister  Ignatius  Loyola  Cox  was  appointed  directress  of  studies 
in  the  novitiate,  where  the  course  embraced  Christian  Doctrine, 
reading,  grammar,  rhetoric,  mathematics,  natural  philosophy, 
astronomy,  elocution,  writing,  drawing  and  music.  Sister  Celes- 
tine  Howard,  as  supervisor  of  schools  in  the  province,  presided 
over  the  annual  summer  institutes  for  teachers  and  novices,  and 
pressed  into  service  the  best  community  talent  to  supplement  the 
efforts  of  specially  trained  teachers  and  lecturers  from  outside. 
Among  the  latter  was  Professor  Primm,  director  of  music  for 
many  years  in  the  public  schools  of  St.  Paul. 

In  1882,  Mother  Jane  Frances  was  succeeded  by  Mother 

3  Mother  George  Bradley  left  the  Carondelet  Congregation  in  1868,  and 
formed  a  diocesan  Community,  whose  Mother  House  is  located  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio. 


THE  NORTHERN  MISSIONS 


235 


Seraphine  Ireland.  A  short  time  after  her  profession  of  vows 
in  i860,  young  Sister  Seraphine  was  called  to  the  Mother  House 
in  Carondelet,  where  from  1863  to  1868  she  was  a  member  of 
the  faculty  of  St.  Joseph’s  Academy.  Here  in  1863,  after  the 
siege  of  Vicksburg,  came  on  a  brief  and  memorable  visit  the 
chaplain  of  the  Fifth  Minnesota  Infantry,  Father  John  Ireland, 
tall,  gaunt,  and  wasted  with  fever,  on  his  way  to  the  more  genial 
climate  of  his  northern  home;  and  on  his  request  in  1868,  Sister 
Seraphine  was  sent  by  Reverend  Mother  Saint  John  to  the  aca¬ 
demy  in  St.  Paul.  At  the  time  of  her  appointment  to  the  pro- 
vincialship,  she  was  the  beloved  Superior  of  the  Girls’  Orphan 
Asylum  in  that  city.  Here  the  children  had  found  in  her  a 
mother  than  whom  their  own  could  not  be  more  tender;  and  the 
Sisters,  a  leader  who  set  before  them  a  constant  example  of  the 
most  attractive  and  imitable  virtues. 

A  prayerful  woman  of  deep  faith,  an  optimist  whose  enthu¬ 
siastic  endeavors  could  transmute  dreams  and  theories  into  prac¬ 
tical  and  shining  realities,  Mother  Seraphine  possessed  many  of 
the  characteristic  traits  of  her  distinguished  brother,  who,  made 
Bishop  of  St.  Paul  in  1884  and  its  Archbishop  in  1888,  was, 
until  his  death  in  1918,  her  helper  and  adviser,  the  kindest  of 
fathers  to  the  Sisters  of  her  province,  their  sympathetic  friend, 
and  the  active  cooperator  in  all  their  undertakings.  In  brother 
and  sister  were  predominant  the  same  vigorous  personality,  sim¬ 
plicity  of  life  and  manner  combined  with  far-visioned  intellect 
and  resolute  will,  the  ‘'warm  friendliness  of  the  Irish  heart  that 
could  be  all  to  all,”  4  and  the  same  noble  striving  to  attain  a 
lofty  ideal.  For  nearly  four  decades,  Mother  Seraphine,  as 
Provincial  Superior,  bent  all  her  great  energies  towards  guiding 
into  ever-widening  channels  the  currents  of  intellectual  and 
spiritual  activity  set  in  motion  by  her  predecessors  in  St.  Paul. 

Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  the  first  Sisters  in  Minnesota  in 
1851,  they  were  honored  by  a  passing  visit  from  the  Dominican 
missionary  of  the  North,  Father  Mazzuchelli,  who  welcomed 


4  Carr,  op.  cit.,  p.  975. 


236  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

them  to  the  new  field  in  which  they  were  the  pioneers.  Stepping 
to  the  door  of  their  humble  abode  and  extending  his  arms,  he 
called  the  attention  of  the  Sisters  to  the  great  and  beautiful  coun¬ 
try  awaiting  the  results  of  their  good  work,  and  bade  them  show1 
the  world  their  fervor,  capacity,  and  zeal  for  God’s  glory.5 
Their  successors  heard  a  similar  strain  in  the  burden  of  advice 
always  given  by  Archbishop  Ireland  to  the  Sisters  in  St.  Paul, 
and  eloquently  expressed  by  him  on  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of 
their  foundation  in  that  city : 

With  the  love  of  Christ  abiding  in  you  and  urging  you,  dare  to 
rise  ever  higher  than  the  world  around  you  could  rise ;  surpass  it 
in  all  the  achievements  that  it  honors  and  compel  it  in  the  name 
of  its  own  ideals  to  acknowledge  that  earth  is  made  more  beautiful, 
that  its  power  for  good  and  great  things  is  increased  when  the 
workers  are  inspired  and  guided  by  religion.6 

It  was  in  pursuance  of  such  an  ideal  that  Mother  Seraphine 
trained  and  directed  her  Sisters,  procured  for  them  the  best 
advantages  in  secular  knowledge  and  helped  them  to  build  up 
schools,  hospitals  and  orphanages  to  the  highest  point  of  efficiency. 
When  she  was  appointed  Provincial  Superior  in  1882,  there  were 
eight  houses  of  the  Congregation  in  the  northern  province,  and 
depending  on  them  for  teachers  were  also  ten  parochial  schools, 
five  of  which  were  in  St.  Paul :  the  Assumption,  St.  Louis 
(French),  St.  Mary’s,  and  St.  James’.  The  teachers  for  these 
resided  at  the  academy,  and  were  driven  to  their  respective  des¬ 
tinations  daily  in  the  convent  bus  by  John  Delaney,  from  boy¬ 
hood  to  old  age  the  faithful  retainer  of  St.  Joseph’s;  but  the 
distances  to  be  covered  were  great,  and  as  the  number  of  schools 
continued  to  increase,  the  need  was  felt  of  a  home  more  con¬ 
veniently  placed  for  the  teachers. 

This  was  secured  in  1884,  when  a  small  frame  residence  near 
St.  Joseph’s  Flospital  was  rented  for  the  purpose.  To  help 
finance  the  undertaking,  classes  in  music  and  embroidery  were 

5  Diary  of  sister  francis  Joseph  ivory,  p.  7.  (MS.) 

6  IRELAND,  op.  cit.,  p.  l6. 


ST.  JOSEPH’S  NOVITIATE  AND  PROVINCIAL  HOUSE,  ST.  PAUL,  MINNESOTA 


THE  NORTHERN  MISSIONS 


237 


organized.  Sister  Celestine  Howard  was  appointed  Superior, 
and  owing  to  the  zeal  and  skillful  management  of  this  admirable 
woman,  the  small  community  was  able  in  1885  to  buy  a  per¬ 
manent  home  centrally  located  on  Exchange  and  Cedar  Streets. 
Here  for  two  years  a  Kindergarten  was  conducted  in  addition 
to  the  music  and  art  classes.  All  of  these  proved  popular,  and 
the  building  was  enlarged  to  meet  rapidly  growing  needs.  This 
marked  the  unpretentious  beginning  of  St.  Agatha’s  Conserva¬ 
tory,  one  of  the  foremost  and  best  known  institutions  of  its 
kind  in  the  Northwest.  New  housing  facilities  were  again  and 
again  required  as  the  classes  increased  in  numbers  and  St. 
Agatha’s  activities  expanded,  the  last  of  the  buildings  being  a 
seven  story  main  structure  erected  in  1909.  An  enrollment  of 
five  hundred  students  in  1910  was  doubled  in  the  succeeding 
decade,  and  at  present  exceeds  eleven  hundred,  attesting  the 
popularity  of  the  courses  and  the  thoroughness  of  the  instruction 
given.  Teachers  trained  in  Florence,  Rome  and  Munich,  as 
well  as  in  the  best  schools  of  the  United  States,  contributed 
to  make  St.  Agatha’s  an  ideal  home  of  true  Christian  art;  and 
Sister  Celestine,  as  Superior  of  the  institution  until  her  death 
in  1915,  gave  inspiration  to  the  work  which  she  had  inaugurated. 

A  lover  of  art,  Sister  Celestine  was  eminently  fitted  to  be  its 
patron  and  promoter  by  reason  of  her  fine  appreciation,  and  a 
keen  critical  judgment  developed  through  years  of  patient  and 
persevering  study  of  the  masters.  It  was  as  community  super¬ 
visor  of  parish  schools,  however,  that  her  greatest  influence  was 
exercised,  and  she  “accomplished  much  for  the  welfare  of  the 
Church  in  behalf  of  Catholic  education.”  7  She  infused  her  own 
progressive  spirit  and  her  devotion  to  the  interests  of  religion 
into  her  Sisters,  and  impressed  upon  all  the  dignity  and  impor¬ 
tance  of  their  profession  as  moulders  of  the  hearts  and  characters 
of  little  children.  Her  own  preference,  as  a  most  successful 
teacher,  was  for  Christian  Doctrine ;  and  in  frequent  glowing 

7  Obituary  notice  of  Sister  Celestine  Howard  in  Acta  and  Dicta  vol.  IV,  part 
I,  p.  176. 


238  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

discourses  to  the  teachers,  she  stressed  the  necessity  of  imparting 
in  a  thorough  and  attractive  manner  this  best  and  highest  of 
the  sciences.  The  conducting  of  Catechism  classes  in  newly 
formed  parishes  became  a  noteworthy  feature  of  the  Sisters’ 
work;  and  as  schools  increased  in  number,  the  teachers  from 
St.  John’s,  St.  Patrick’s,  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  St.  Peter’s 
were  added  to  those  already  domiciled  at  St.  Agatha’s.  Other 
parochial  schools  taken  by  the  Sisters  were  St.  Mark’s  and  St. 
Vincent’s,  attended  from  St.  Joseph’s  Academy,  St.  Luke’s  and 
St.  Michael’s,  the  last  named  dating  from  1888. 

In  the  meantime,  many  of  the  out-lying  districts  were  opening 
up  institutions  under  the  care  of  the  Sisters  from  St.  Paul,  and 
centers  were  established  in  other  dioceses  of  Minnesota,  and  in 
North  and  South  Dakota.  In  1885,  St.  Mary’s  Academy  at 
Graceville,  Minnesota,  was  inaugurated,  St.  Joseph’s  at  Waverly 
in  1886,  St.  Mary’s  Hospital  in  Minneapolis  in  1887,  and  St. 
John’s  in  Winona  in  1888.  This,  undertaken  at  the  request  of 
the  Bishop  when  the  newly  erected  building  was  given  up  by 
its  original  owners  on  account  of  financial  difficulties,  was  re¬ 
tained  until  1894.  At  Graceville,  which  came  into  existence  as 
a  part  of  Archbishop  Ireland’s  colonization  scheme  in  Minnesota, 
in  addition  to  the  academy,  the  Sisters  taught  for  ten  years  the 
Indian  girls  from  a  reservation  in  South  Dakota,  receiving  them 
under  a  government  contract  which  held  in  force  until  the  break¬ 
ing  up  of  the  contract  schools  in  1896.  The  establishment  of 
St.  John’s  Academy  at  Jamestown,  North  Dakota,  in  1890  was 
followed  by  the  opening  of  boarding  and  day  schools  at  Anoka 
in  1904,  Bird  Island  in  1897,  Marshall  and  Avoca  in  1900,  Fulda 
in  1901,  Le  Sueur  and  Ghent  in  1902,  all  in  Minnesota,  and  all 
except  those  in  Ghent  and  Avoca  of  academy  grade,  with  flourish¬ 
ing  high-school  departments. 

St.  John’s  Academy,  Jamestown,  the  first  mission  of  the 
province  outside  of  Minnesota,  was  opened  at  the  request  of 
Right  Reverend  Bishop  Shanley,  by  whom  was  blessed  the  first 
building  on  December  8,  1890,  and  two  succeeding  ones  built 


THE  NORTHERN  MISSIONS 


239 


in  1899  and  1907  to  meet  new  conditions,  St.  John’s  having 
developed  under  the  direction  of  Sister  M.  Irenaeus  Egan,  Su¬ 
perior  from  1892  to  1910,  into  one  of  the  largest  private  institu¬ 
tions  in  the  North.  Its  efficiency  was  recognized  by  the  business 
men  of  Jamestown,  who  donated  Academy  Park  in  1906,  and 
by  John  Reilly,  a  private  citizen  of  Gladstone,  North  Dakota, 
whose  gift  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  improved  land 
is  the  prospective  site  of  a  new  St.  John’s.  At  Bishop  Shanley’s 
invitation,  also,  six  Sisters — trained  nurses — took  charge  in 
April  1900  of  St.  John’s  Hospital  in  a  healthful  and  beautiful 
location  of  Fargo,  North  Dakota.  Begun  on  a  small  scale,  the 
hospital  grew  rapidly,  and  in  three  years  new  and  larger  quarters 
were  required.  Equipped  to  meet  every  demand  of  modern  sur¬ 
gery  and  medicine,  St.  John’s  increased  its  executive  staff  to 
twenty  Sisters,  caring  for  an  average  of  fifteen  hundred  patients 
yearly  and  directing  a  training  school  of  fifty  nurses. 

The  erection  of  St.  Mary’s  Academy  at  Bird  Island  in  a  rich 
agricultural  section  was  an  inducement  to  farmers  to  secure  land 
in  neighboring  districts,  and  proved  to  be  an  influential  factor 
in  the  upbuilding  of  the  place.  The  first  request  for  an  academy 
at  Marshall,  Minnesota,  came  to  Mother  Seraphine  from  the 
non-Catholic  business  men  of  that  city,  who,  through  the  Mayor, 
Virgil  B.  Seward,  a  capable  attorney,  expressed  themselves  as 
fully  aware  of  the  “usefulness  of  your  great  society  to  our 
state,”  8  and  “very  anxious  to  secure  the  benefits  to  our  com¬ 
munity.”  9  The  seat  of  Lyon  County,  Marshall  was,  like  Bird 
Island,  in  a  fertile  farming  region  with  excellent  railroad  facil¬ 
ities.  Many  nationalities  were  represented  in  its  population  of 
four  thousand,  only  a  small  proportion  of  which,  however,  was 
Catholic.  All  were  public  spirited,  thrifty  and  progressive,  and 
for  the  most  part  possessed  of  means  and  culture. 

Twelve  prominent  citizens  with  the  pastor,  Monsignor  Guillot, 
welcomed  Mother  Seraphine  and  her  companion  on  their  initial 

8  Letter  of  Virgil  B.  Seward,  to  Mother  Seraphine,  Apr.  10,  1879. 

» Ibid. 


240  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

visit  of  investigation  May  30,  1899,  and  offered  to  provide 
facilities  for  both  hospital  and  school  purposes.  The  school 
proposition  only  was  accepted;  and  on  March  1,  1900,  a  small 
community  was  sent  to  make  a  beginning,  property  having  been 
purchased  in  the  meantime,  from  a  Methodist  named  Mahoney, 
who  alone  among  his  compatriots  had  been  opposed  to  Catholic 
interests  in  Marshall.  Music  and  art  classes  were  conducted 
by  the  Sisters  until  the  following  September,  when  pupils  to  the 
number  of  forty  were  regularly  enrolled  in  the  future  St.  Joseph’s 
Academy.  Boarders  were  received  in  1901,  and  in  1902,  the 
first  high-school  subjects  were  made  a  part  of  the  curriculum. 
To  the  full  academic  course  in  1912  was  added  a  teachers’  course 
leading  to  certificates  of  the  first  grade.  As  a  result,  many  girls 
who  had  finished  in  the  consolidated  and  country  schools  applied 
for  admission;  and  Catholics  from  states  to  the  south  and  east, 
attracted  by  these  advantages,  sought  permanent  homes  in  Mar¬ 
shall. 

While  the  Congregation  was  thus  extending  its  influence  in 
Minnesota  and  the  neighboring  states,  the  academy  at  the  Pro¬ 
vincial  House  in  St.  Paul,  adapting  itself  to  changing  require¬ 
ments,  maintained  through  succeeding  years  the  reputation  for 
breadth  and  thoroughness  which  it  had  established  early  in  its 
career.  Until  the  eighties  it  was  devoid  of  many  conveniences 
which  are  now  necessities,  but  which  then  were  luxuries  in  the 
Middle  West,  and  within  the  reach  only  of  the  affluent.  Wood 
fires,  for  which  fuel  was  carried  by  armfuls  up  long  flights  of 
stairs,  and  water  sent  to  upper  floors  by  hand-worked  pumps 
were  accessories  to  comfort  not  looked  upon  as  dearly  purchased 
by  such  labor;  and  neither  the  lack  of  better  appliances  nor  the 
strict  discipline  in  vogue  was  a  drawback  to  this  oldest  institution 
of  its  kind  in  Minnesota,  to  which  pupils  came  in  large  numbers 
from  the  surrounding  country.  Daughters  for  the  most  part  of 
prosperous  northern  farmers,  they  were  clear-minded  and  ener¬ 
getic,  good  students,  and  actively  interested  in  all  that  made  for 
civic  and  industrial  improvement.  The  positive  element  in  the 


THE  NORTHERN  MISSIONS 


241 


character  of  the  school  is  indicated  by  the  note  of  color  empha¬ 
sized  in  the  sombre  student  uniform,  bright  blue  veils  for  chapel 
use  and  a  dash  of  crimson  on  the  dark  out-door  suits. 

The  course  of  study,  as  outlined  in  the  Year  Book  of  1876, 
included  besides  the  elementary  branches  taught  in  what  were 
designated  as  primary  and  intermediate  divisions :  “Mathemat¬ 
ics,  Prose  and  Poetical  Composition,  Rhetoric,  Sacred  and  Pro¬ 
fane  History,  Astronomy,  Botany,  Intellectual  and  Natural 
Philosophy,  Chemistry,  Book-keeping,  French,  German  and 
Latin;  Music  on  Piano-forte,  Melodeon  and  Guitar;  Vocal  Mu¬ 
sic;  Drawing  and  Painting  in  Oils,  Water  Colors  and  Pastel; 
Plain  and  Ornamental  Needle-work,  Tapestry,  Embroidery,  Hair 
and  Lace  Work,  and  the  making  of  artificial  Fruits  and  Flowers.” 
Religious  instruction  at  this  time  was  given  by  Reverend  John 
Shanley,  future  Bishop  of  Fargo,  whose  powers  of  story-telling 
in  illustration  of  a  dry  text  made  him  an  interesting  and  popular 
teacher.  To  young  Bishop  Ireland,  appointed  coadjutor  to 
Bishop  Grace  in  1875,  fell  the  task  of  conducting  the  oral  exam¬ 
inations  so  formidable  in  anticipation  to  the  students,  but  occa¬ 
sions  of  merriment  at  times,  when  the  distinguished  examiner 
relieved  the  long-sustained  tension  of  a  quiz  by  so  manipulating 
his  questions  as  to  force  a  ridiculous  or  incongruous  answer 
from  some  eager  and  unsuspecting  miss. 

During  forty-three  succeeding  years,  this  “athlete  of  God 
and  of  His  Church”  10  manifested  the  keenest  interest  in  the 
educational  work  of  the  Congregation  in  the  North. 

No  Michel  Angelo  ever  had  vocation  so  noble,  so  blessed,  as  he 
who  moulds  the  youthful  soul, 

is  the  manner  in  which  he  gave  beautiful  expression  to  his  sen¬ 
timents  before  the  National  Education  Association  in  July,  1902; 

Each  pupil  is  the  Parian  marble,  rough-hewn  and  unformed,  and 
every  word,  every  act  of  the  teacher  is  the  stroke  of  the  chisel 
falling  upon  the  animate  block  to  reveal  the  glory  of  the  angel. 

10  Louisville  Record,  Dec.  26,  1918. 


242  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Thus  ever  pointing  the  way  to  higher  levels,  he  actively 
cooperated  with  the  Sisters  in  the  attainment  of  desired  goals,  and 
drew  into  sympathy  with  them  and  their  ideals  his  own  intimate 
and  personal  friends,  many  of  whom  from  time  to  time  were 
the  honored  guests  of  St.  Joseph’s  Academy,  each  visit  of  theirs 
a  delight  and  frequently  a  rare  intellectual  treat  to  both  faculty 
and  student  body.  Few  of  these  occasions,  numerous  in  the 
passing  years  and  of  singular  brilliance  in  various  instances, 
stand  out  with  greater  prominence  than  the  welcome  given  in 
the  late  autumn  of  1887  to  His  Eminence,  Cardinal  Gibbons. 
“It  was  a  wonderful  event  in  our  lives,  and  required  the  very 
best  that  we  could  put  forth,”  wrote  one  of  St.  Joseph’s  girls 
many  years  later.  Flaming  banners  of  gold  and  scarlet,  gar¬ 
lands  of  red  oak  leaves,  of  the  Virginia  creeper,  of  sumach  and 
the  cardinal  flower,  Wagnerian  overtures  rendered  by  a  youthful 
orchestra,  were  but  faint  means  of  expression  for  the  enthusiasm 
with  which  the  newly  created  Cardinal  of  the  Church  in  America 
was  received.  An  impressive  figure  in  his  robes  of  office  and 
attended  by  Bishops  Ireland,  Cotter  and  McGolrick,  His 
Eminence  addressed  all  in  pleasing  vein,  and  bestowed  a  blessing 
on  Sisters,  novices  and  students. 

The  academy  numbered  at  this  time  one  hundred  resident 
pupils,  and  was  reaching  out  for  room.  As  early  as  1890,  in 
furtherance  of  a  project  for  greater  expansion,  a  suburban  prop¬ 
erty  was  secured  between  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis  for  the  erec¬ 
tion  of  a  college  and  academy.  Here,  on  what  came  to  be 
known  as  Academy  Heights,  the  lure  of  the  future  and  the 
pleasures  of  anticipation  led  the  Sisters  to  construct  the  pro¬ 
posed  buildings  in  imagination  many  times  before  the  desired 
end  was  finally  realized.  Periods  of  business  depression  con¬ 
sequent  upon  crop  failures  or  the  ravages  of  some  insect  plague  of 
agriculturists  were  reflected  in  diminished  numbers  in  the  class 
rooms  and  in  the  community’s  depleted  income.  Vexing  school 
and  national  problems  in  the  nineties  occupied  the  attention  of 
the  Archbishop,  upon  whose  advice  and  cooperation  much  de- 


THE  NORTHERN  MISSIONS 


243 

pended;  and  another  decade  passed  before  the  long  deferred 
plans  became  realities. 

It  was  a  fruitful  interval,  however,  during  which  there  was 
no  abatement  of  the  general  enthusiasm  for  greater  development. 
The  academy  under  the  direction  successively  of  Sister  St.  Rose 
Mackey  from  1884  to  1895,  and  Sister  Hyacinth  Werden  from 
1895  to  1904,  gave  glowing  proofs  of  its  efficiency,  being  recog¬ 
nized  by  the  University  of  Minnesota  in  1896  and  placed  on  its 
list  of  accredited  schools.  The  Sisters  continued  their  prepara¬ 
tion  for  college  work  by  attendance  at  various  American  univer¬ 
sities  in  courses  leading  to  degrees;  and  two  of  their  number, 
Sister  Hyacinth  Werden  and  Sister  Bridget  Bohan,  gathered 
information  abroad  relative  to  higher  education  for  women  in 
France,  Germany  and  Belgium.  Before  returning  to  America, 
they  made  an  exhaustive  study  of  the  organization  and  practical 
working  of  the  St.  Anna  Stiff ,  the  Catholic  Sisters’  College  of 
Munster  in  Westphalia,  finding  therein  encouragement  and 
inspiration. 

Plans  and  curricula  were  completed;  and  in  1904,  Derham 
Hall,  the  first  building  of  St.  Catherine’s  College  group,  was 
erected  through  the  generosity  of  a  pioneer  resident  of  Rose- 
mount  in  Minnesota,  Hugh  Derham,  whose  daughter  and  ward 
were  both  members  of  the  community  in  St.  Paul.  On  January 
5,  1905,  the  preparatory  department  was  inaugurated  by  the 
transfer  to  Derham  Hall  of  the  boarders  from  St.  Joseph’s 
Academy.  The  latter,  under  the  supervision  of  Sister  Eugenia 
Maginnis  from  1905  until  1919,  continued  with  singular  success 
as  a  day  school,  registering  in  1910,  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  girls,  two  hundred  of  whom  were  high  school  students. 
Cardinal  Vannutelli,  a  guest  at  St.  Joseph’s  on  September  20 
of  that  year,  addressing  the  pupils  in  the  presence  of  a  distin¬ 
guished  retinue,11  impressed  on  their  minds  the  importance  to 

11  Archbishops  Ireland,  Christie  of  Portland,  Oregon;  Bishops  Lawler; 
Busch  of  Lead,  South  Dakota;  O’Connell  of  San  Francisco;  Scannell  of 
Omaha;  Carroll  of  Montana;  Lennihan  of  Great  Falls,  Montana;  Monsignori 
Le  Croy  and  Lega;  Father  Wilby  and  Count  Vannutelli. 


244  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

themselves  and  to  their  country  of  implanting  deep  in  their  lives 
the  spirit  of  religion.  He  congratulated  them  on  their  great 
opportunities,  “with  Sisters  devoted  to  your  spiritual  growth  and 
your  moral  well  being”;  and  assured  them,  with  characteristic 
Italian  enthusiasm,  that  on  his  return  to  Rome  he  would  tell  the 
Holy  Father  of  his  own  pleasure  at  their  cordial  welcome  to  the 
representative  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff. 

At  the  College  of  St.  Catherine,  in  the  meantime,  the  basis 
of  a  thorough  classical  training  was  laid  by  an  efficient  staff  of 
twelve  Sisters  with  Sister  Hyacinth  Werden,  a  woman  of  ripe 
scholarship  and  with  a  genius  for  organization,  as  Superior. 
Sister  Hyacinth  had  labored  unceasingly  for  years  in  the  cause 
of  higher  education,  and  gave  to  the  establishment  of  St.  Cath¬ 
erine’s  the  benefit  of  her  talent,  her  fine  judgment  and  wide 
experience.  She  enlisted  among  her  assistants  distinguished 
lecturers  and  teachers  from  the  two  neighboring  institutions, 
St.  Paul’s  Seminary  and  the  College  of  St.  Thomas,  among  them 
the  Reverend  Doctors  Heffron,  future  Bishop  of  Winona,  Ryan 
now  of  the  Catholic  University  of  America,  Seliskar,  McGinnis 
and  Schaefer,  the  last  three  still  members  of  the  faculty.  The 
first  courses  offered  were  Religion,  Ethics,  History,  Chemistry, 
Physics,  Botany,  English,  Dramatic  Art,  German,  and  the 
Classical  and  Romance  languages. 

The  classes  for  the  first  six  years,  a  crucial  period,  were  small 
and  were  kept  with  difficulty  through  freshmen  and  sophomore 
years.  The  idea  of  the  Catholic  College  for  women  was  still 
novel,  and  required  time  to  mature,  especially  in  the  Northwest, 
accustomed  from  pioneer  days  to  measure  real  values  by  great 
practical  results.  Confident  of  ultimate  success,  Sister  Hyacinth 
and  her  undaunted  faculty  pursued  their  way  through  obstacles 
to  the  higher  levels,  encouraged  at  each  step  by  the  wise  counsel 
and  fatherly  interest  of  the  venerated  founder  of  the  institution, 
Archbishop  Ireland,  who  with  splendid  optimism,  his  eyes  on  the 
future,  visioned  a  greater  St.  Catherine’s,  and  lavished  on  the 
young  plant  his  fostering  care  and  the  wealth  of  his  rich  ex- 


COLLEGE  HALL  AND  ST.  CATHERINES  CHAPEL 
COLLEGE  OF  ST.  CATHERINE,  ST.  PAUL.  MINNESOTA 


THE  NORTHERN  MISSIONS 


245 


perience.  It  grew  and  flourished  in  an  atmosphere  of  hope  and 
enthusiasm,  of  renewed  efforts  and  unconquered  wills.  St. 
Catherine’s  offered  its  first  fruits  to  Heaven,  when  two  of  the 
original  band  of  six  students  who  had  registered  in  1905, 
Adelaide  Jennings  and  Margaret  Doyle,  answered  the  call  to  a 
higher  life,  and  as  Sister  Catherine  and  Sister  Madeleine,  entered 
the  seclusion  of  St.  Joseph’s  novitiate. 

In  1913,  the  baccalaureate  degree  was  conferred  on  the  first 
graduates,  Gertrude  Malloy  and  Marguerite  McCusker.  During 
the  same  year,  on  a  portion  of  the  one  hundred  acre  campus, 
was  erected  on  classic  lines  designed  by  Masqueray,  architect 
of  St.  Paul’s  Cathedral,  St.  Joseph’s  Training  School,  to  which 
was  removed  from  its  old  quarters  the  novitiate  normal  as  an 
affiliated  institution;  and  in  1914,  the  imposing  College  Hall 
and  Auditorium  were  completed,  followed  in  more  recent  years 
by  Csecilian  Hall,  the  group  fully  equipped  to  cover  sixteen 
departments  of  college  work,  including  music,  art,  and  all  the 
womanly  accomplishments  comprised  by  home  economics.  In 
1916,  St.  Catherine’s  was  standarized  by  the  North  Central 
Association  of  Colleges  and  by  an  examining  board  from  the 
University  of  Minnesota.  It  was  next  placed  on  the  accredited 
list  of  the  Catholic  Educational  Association  and  the  Association 
of  American  Universities,  with  membership  in  the  Association  of 
American  University  Women. 

Sister  Frances  Clare  Bardon,  a  prominent  figure  for  years 
in  the  educational  work  of  the  Congregation  in  the  North,  a 
woman  of  gracious  presence,  wide  attainments  and  practical 
wisdom,  succeeded  to  the  presidency  of  the  College  in  1911 ;  and 
the  appointment  in  1914  of  Sister  Antonia  McHugh  as  dean, 
gave  St.  Catherine’s  a  leading  factor  in  its  later  development. 
Sister  Antonia,  through  her  untiring  efforts  and  with  the  support 
of  a  highly  trained  faculty  maintained  the  ideal  set  forth  by  the 
institution  from  its  inception,  to  cultivate  in  its  students  “intel¬ 
lectual  vigor,  breadth  of  outlook,  clearcut  moral  convictions,  and 
a  strong  religious  life,”  and  thus  “to  produce  women  whose 


246  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

qualities  of  mind  and  heart  will  enable  them  to  do  their  share 
of  the  world’s  work  in  a  gracious,  generous,  beneficent  spirit.”  12 

That  these  aims  have  made  a  general  appeal  to  Catholic 
womanhood  is  evidenced  by  the  fourteen  hundred  and  ten  senior 
college  students  whose  names  have  been  inscribed  in  St.  Cath¬ 
erine’s  register  since  1911,  representing  besides  fifteen  states  in 
the  Union,  Canada,  France,  Germany,  Ireland,  and  the  Philippine 
Islands ;  and  by  the  influence  exerted  through  its  alumnae,  seventy 
per  cent  of  whom  are  engaged  in  the  teaching  profession.  The 
impetus  given  to  the  intellectual  life  of  the  province  by  this,  its 
central  institution,  is  reflected  in  the  number  and  character  of  the 
schools  and  academies  which  were  commenced  after  1905, 13 
and  which  added  an  aggregate  of  three  thousand  children  to  the 
large  number  already  being  taught  by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph 
in  the  North.  The  establishment  of  St.  Michael’s  Hospital  at 
Grand  Forks,  North  Dakota,  in  1908  and  Trinity  Hospital  at 
Jamestown  in  the  same  state  in  1916,  increased  by  two  thousand 
four  hundred  and  forty-three  the  number  of  patients  cared  for 
by  them  annually. 

A  casual  survey  only  of  these  records  is  sufficient  to  arouse 
in  the  mind  of  the  reader  an  appreciation  of  the  tribute  paid  by 
the  late  Metropolitan  of  St.  Paul  to  religious  communities, 

the  Church’s  choicest  and  most  valuable  agencies.  Were  its  Sis¬ 
terhoods  to  disappear,  there  would  be  missed  from  the  harvest  field 
of  the  Church  legions  of  workers  whose  places  could  never  be  filled ; 
there  would,  be  missed  from  the  pages  of  the  Church’s  story  feats 

12  Bulletin  of  the  College  of  St.  Catherine ,  pp.  1-6.  St.  Paul,  1922. 

13  These  are,  in  Minneapolis,  Minn.:  Notre  Dame  de  Lourdes  (1906),  St. 
Margaret’s  Academy  (1907),  Ascension,  Pro-Cathedral  and  St.  Stephen’s 
Schools  (1917);  and  in  other  parts  of  Minnesota:  St.  Mary’s  Academy, 
Morris  (1910)  ;  St.  Mary’s  Convent,  White  Bear  (1913)  ;  St.  Aloysius 
Convent,  Olivia  (1914)  ;  St.  Mary’s  School,  Le  Sueur  Center  (1914)  ;  St. 
Peter’s  School,  St.  Peter  (1914);  in  North  Dakota:  St.  Michael’s  Convent 
and  St.  James’  Academy,  Grand  Forks  (1916)  ;  and  in  South  Dakota,  Im¬ 
maculate  Conception  Academy,  Watertown  (1910). 


THE  NORTHERN  MISSIONS 


247 


and  triumphs  of  religion  and  charity  that  have  won  for  it  the  love 
and  admiration  of  the  ages,  and  have  ever  been  among  the  most 
striking  evidences  of  its  divine  life  and  power.14 


14  Ireland,  op.  cit.,  p.  10. 


CHAPTER  XV 


PIONEERS  IN  ARIZONA,  MISSIONS  IN  CALIFORNIA 

( 187Q-I922) 

In  1870,  seven  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  went  from  Carondelet  to 
Arizona.  The  subject  of  sending  a  community  to  this  sparsely 
settled  territory  was  first  broached  to  Mother  Saint  John  Face- 
maz,  Superior-General,  in  1868  by  Bishop  Lamy  of  Santa  Fe. 
In  June,  1867,  one  of  his  priests,  Father  Coudert,  had  made  the 
trip  from  New  Mexico  to  Carondelet  to  beg  Sisters  for  Las 
Vegas,  where  he  was  about  to  build  a  school;  and  this  petition 
Bishop  Lamy  seconded,  asking  teachers  also  for  Tucson,  then 
part  of  his  diocese  under  the  jurisdiction  of  his  vicar,  John 
Baptist  Salpointe. 

Arizona  was  a  missionary  country,  of  which  Tucson,  with 
three  thousand  inhabitants,  more  than  half  of  whom  were  Cath¬ 
olics,1  was  the  capital  and  largest  city.  Tucson  was  one  of 
numerous  settlements  of  the  Pimeria  Alta,  first  explored  by 
Father  Eusebio  Kino  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  referred  to  by 
him  in  his  diary  of  November  1,  1699,  as  San  Cosme  del  Tucson.2 
Like  other  missions  of  Arizona  and  California,  it  was  attended 
by  Jesuit  missionaries  from  Mexico  until  the  suppression  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus  in  1767.  The  establishment  of  a  military  post 
there  by  the  Spanish  government  authorities  of  Mexico  in  1781 
as  a  protection  for  the  Christian  Indians  against  the  attacks  of 
roving  Apaches,  brought  white  settlers,  who  soon  had  their  own 
church  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Augustine.  After  the  de- 

1  Letter  of  Bishop  Lamy  to  Mother  Saint  John.  June  26,  1868. 

2  Kino’s  Historical  Memoir  of  Pimeria  Alta ,  A  Contemporary  Account 
of  the  Beginnings  of  California,  Sonora,  and  Arizona,  by  Father  Eusebio 
Francisco  Kino,  S.  J.  Edited  by  Herbert  eugene  bolton,  ph.d,  vol.  I.  p. 
206.  Cleveland,  1919. 


248 


IN  ARIZONA  AND  CALIFORNIA 


249 


parture  of  the  Jesuits,  the  mission  was  attended  by  Franciscan 
Fathers  until  their  expulsion  with  the  Spaniards  in  1827  by  the 
Mexican  republican  Government,  which  two  years  later,  began 
the  spoliation  of  the  mission  lands.  Tucson  was  irregularly 
attended  by  priests  from  Sonora,  Mexico,  until  1859,  when  as 
American  territory  it  was  annexed  to  the  See  of  Santa  Fe. 

Father  Macheboeuf,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Denver,  spent  four 
months  in  Arizona  as  Bishop  Lamy’s  vicar;  and  finding  only 
ruins  of  churches  in  Tucson  and  its  environs,  made  use  of  a 
private  house  given  him  for  a  place  of  worship  by  Francisco 
Solano  Leon,  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  former  place.  After  the 
departure  of  Father  Macheboeuf  in  1859,  Fathers  Donato 
Reghieri  and  two  Jesuit  Fathers,  Mesea  and  Bosco,  filled  in  the 
interval  until  August  1864,  when  Bishop  Lamy  called  for  volun¬ 
teers  among  his  few  priests,  the  Arizona  missions  being  con¬ 
sidered  dangerous  on  account  of  hostile  Apaches.  The  two 
priests  selected  went  as  far  as  Las  Cruces,  but,  finding  no  one 
willing  to  risk  his  life  by  conducting  them  farther,  returned  to 
Santa  Fe.3  In  1866,  Father  Salpointe,  who  had  also  volun¬ 
teered,  was  appointed  to  go  to  Tucson,  and  in  company  with  two 
priests  and  a  young  layman  for  a  teacher,  left  Santa  Fe  January 
6  under  a  military  escort  furnished  by  General  Carleton  of  Fort 
Marcy.  They  reached  their  destination  February  7. 

Father  Salpointe  finished  a  church  commenced  by  Father 
Donato  and  began  the  erection  of  a  school,  his  lay  teacher,  Mr. 
Vincent,  in  the  meantime  conducting  classes  for  six  months  at 
the  rectory,  a  house  consisting  of  one  room  and  an  alcove  and 
furnished  “with  three  chairs,  a  writing  table  and  a  pigeon-hole 
case  for  papers,”  the  alcove  serving  as  a  store  room  for  the 
rolled-up  blankets  that  did  duty  at  night  for  beds.4  The  dif¬ 
ficulty  of  obtaining  the  lumber  needed  for  the  roofs  of  the  two 
buildings,  as  related  by  Bishop  Salpointe,  further  illustrates  the 

3  Bishop  salpointe,  Soldiers  of  the  Cross,  p.  241.  Banning,  California, 
1898. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  252. 


250  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

trials  of  the  missionary,  and  points  to  the  sacrifices  made  by  the 
good  people  of  Tucson  for  church  and  school: 

The  lumber  was  prepared  in  the  Huachuca  mountains,  about 
eighty  miles  from  Tucson,  where  there  is  an  easier  access  to  the 
pine  woods  than  at  Santa  Rita.  But  as  a  proof  that  the  works  of 
God  must  be  tried  in  many  different  ways  before  success  can  be 
reached  for  them,  there  arose  another  trouble.  The  lumber  was 
ready,  but  the  wagons  could  not  be  easily  procured  to  send  at  once 
for  it,  and  the  Apaches  were  only  waiting  for  the  departure  of  the 
workmen  from  their  camp  to  bum  the  lumber  that  had  been  prepared. 
It  became  necessary  to  look  for  wagons,  and  to  send  them  before 
the  coming  of  the  workmen,  to  move  the  lumber  a  distance  of  twelve 
or  fifteen  miles  to  Camp  Wallen,  where  it  would  be  put  under  the 
care  of  the  soldiers  until  some  good  opportunity  could  be  found  to 
have  it  brought  to  Tucson.  This  opportunity  was  offered  by  the 
firm  of  Tully  and  Ochoa  as  soon  as  they  had  to  carry  provisions 
to  Camp  Wallen.  The  so  long  wished  for  material  was  brought  to 
Tucson  towards  the  end  of  1868  and  delivered,  free  of  charge, 
where  it  was  needed.5 

Reverend  Mother  Saint  John  had  refused  the  request  made  in 
1868  by  Bishop  Lamy,  her  reason  being  that  the  existing  schools 
required  all  the  Sisters  at  her  command.  Father  Salpointe,  how¬ 
ever,  was  persistent.  Appointed  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Arizona  on 
its  separation  from  the  diocese  of  Santa  Fe,  he  proceeded  to 
France,  where  he  was  consecrated  at  Clermont  on  June  20,  1869. 
From  Lyons,  and  again  from  Clermont,  he  renewed  his  petitions 
to  Mother  Saint  John,  and  expressed  his  intention  of  stopping 
at  Carondelet  on  his  return,  hoping  that  Sisters  would  be  ready 
by  that  time  to  accompany  him  to  Tucson.  He  arrived  at  St. 
Louis  in  the  fall,  but  was  obliged  to  depart  without  the  desired 
community.  He  had  secured  a  promise,  however,  from  Mother 
Saint  John,  that  Sisters  would  be  sent  after  the  annual  pro¬ 
fession  of  vows  in  March. 

On  April  20,  1870,  a  courageous  band  of  volunteers  set  out 
5  Ibid.,  p.  254. 


IN  ARIZONA  AND  CALIFORNIA 


251 


on  their  long  journey.  The  members  of  the  band  were  Sister 
Emerentia  Bonnefoy,  as  Superior,  Sisters  Ambrosia  Arnichaud, 
Euphrasia  Suchet,  Monica  Corrigan,  Hyacinth  Blanc,  Maxime 
Croisat,  and  Martha  Peters.  They  followed  the  route  marked 
out  for  them  by  Bishop  Salpointe,  from  St.  Louis  to  San 
Francisco  by  rail — the  transcontinental  road  to  the  Pacific  from 
Omaha  was  just  finished — thence  by  ocean  steamer  to  San  Diego, 
where  he  expected  to  meet  them  and  conduct  them  overland  to 
Tucson.  They  were  accompanied  by  Mother  Saint  John  and 
Sister  Lucina  Crooks  to  Omaha,  entertained  on  the  way  by  a 
young  Indian  violinist  who  was  among  their  fellow  passengers. 
Delayed  over  night  at  Omaha,  they  went  to  the  Convent  of  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  where  they  heard  Mass  on  the  morning  of 
April  23,  and  after  receiving  the  blessing  of  Bishop  O’Gorman, 
resumed  their  journey. 

Willingly  as  they  had  made  the  sacrifice,  they  felt  keenly  the 
parting  with  Mother  Saint  John,  who  with  her  companion,  left  at 
this  point  to  return  to  Carondelet ;  but  they  found  much  along  the 
route  to  interest  them  and  occupy  their  attention.  In  view  of 
snow-capped  mountains  that  seemed  to  touch  the  sky,  over  deep 
chasms  down  which  they  dared  not  look,  across  winding  rivers 
fed  by  impetuous  mountain  streams,  they  sped  along  until  they 
skirted  Great  Salt  Lake,  where  an  attractive  view  of  city  gardens 
and  orchards  on  one  side  contrasted  with  rocks  and  barren 
mountains  on  the  other.  On  April  26,  they  reached  Battle 
Mountain  in  Nevada,  where  the  heat  was  oppressive;  and  on  the 
following  morning,  “cold  as  a  Canadian  March,”  passed  a  dreary 
place  called  Cape  Horn,  their  train  rounding  the  edge  of  a  sheer 
precipice  that  fell  three  hundred  feet  below  them.  At  seven 
o’clock  that  evening  they  reached  San  Francisco,  five  days  out 
from  Omaha.  They  had  made  friends  on  the  train,  among  them 
a  worthy  couple  of  San  Francisco,  who,  when  that  city  was 
reached,  saw  them  safe  on  their  way  to  the  Convent  of  the  Sisters 
of  Mercy. 

For  three  days  they  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  Reverend 


252  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Mother  Gabriel  and  her  community,  and  on  April  30  took  pas¬ 
sage  on  the  ocean  steamer  Arizona  for  San  Diego,  which  they 
reached  on  May  3  after  a  pleasant  voyage.  Here,  to  their  dis¬ 
may,  there  was  no  one  to  meet  them,  the  announcement  of  tKeir 
coming  sent  from  Carondelet  to  Bishop  Salpointe,  as  they  after¬ 
wards  learned,  having  been  delayed.  On  May  7,  they  left  San 
Diego  by  wagon  trail  for  Arizona  City,  at  the  junction  of  the 

Colorado  and  Gila  rivers,  a  six  days’  journey.  “About  ten 

» 

o’clock,  we  passed  a  white  post  that  marks  the  southwest  bound¬ 
ary  of  the  United  States,”  wrote  Sister  Monica  in  her  diary  of 
that  day.  “We  dropped  a  few  tears  at  sight  of  it,  then  entered 
Lower  California.  At  noon,  we  halted  and  took  lunch,  twelve 
miles  from  San  Diego.  Sister  Maxime  and  I  went  in  search 
of  gold.  Seeing  quantities  of  it,  we  proposed  getting  a  sack  and 
filling  it.  Just  think,  a  sack  of  gold! — but  we  soon  learned  by 
experience  that  ‘all  that  glitters  is  not  gold.’  We  camped  about 
sunset,  made  tea  and  took  our  supper  off  a  rock.  All  were 
cheerful.” 

The  following  day,  evidently  still  in  high  spirits,  they  cele¬ 
brated  the  Patronage  of  St.  Joseph  by  plucking  the  white  flowers 
of  the  yucca  and  bearing  them  in  procession  on  foot  in  advance 
of  their  conveyance,  picturing  themselves  in  Egypt  with  their 
holy  patron.  By  noon  they  reached  a  ranch  and  accepted  the 
bounteous  dinner  kindly  offered  them  by  the  owner.  These 
solitary  ranches  were  distributed  at  intervals  along  the  trail, 
but  afforded  few  conveniences  beyond  a  cooling  drink  of  water 
and  the  opportunity  of  resting  in  the  shade  of  the  numerous 
small  buildings.  The  next  few  days  their  route  lay  across 
mountains  and  over  desert  land,  and  they  suffered  much  from 
fatigue,  from  intense  heat  in  the  day  time  and  cold  at 
night. 

For  several  miles,  the  road  is  up  and  down  mountains.  We  were 
obliged  to  travel  on  foot.  At  the  highest  point  it  is  said  to  be 
four  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  We  were  com¬ 
pelled  to  stop  here  to  breathe.  Some  of  the  Sisters  lay 


IN  ARIZONA  AND  CALIFORNIA 


253 


down  on  the  road  side,  unable  to  proceed  any  farther.  Besides 
this  terrible  fatigue,  we  suffered  still  more  from  thirst.  Before 
proceeding  further,  I  shall  give  you  a  brief  description  of  the 
place.  We  were  going  south.  Before  us  lay  the  American 
Desert,  forty  miles  long.  On  the  right  lies  a  great  salt  lake,  sup¬ 
posed  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  ocean,  which  being  hemmed  in  by 
mountains  could  not  recede  with  the  other  waters.  On  the  left, 
rise  ugly  mountains  of  volcanic  rock  and  red  sand.  I  wished  Sister 
Euphrasia  to  make  a  sketch  of  this  scene,  but  she  said  it  was  not 
necessary  then,  as  she  would  never  forget  the  appearance  of  it. 
Sister  Maxime  named  it  the  “Abomination  of  Desolation.6 

On  the  morning  of  May  13,  they  crossed  the  Colorado  River, 
their  wagon  driven  on  to  a  tow-boat,  which  narrowly  escaped 
being  overturned  when  the  horses  took  fright  at  the  motion  of 
the  boat,  drawn  to  the  opposite  shore  by  ropes.  At  Arizona 
City,  or  Yuma,  the  Sisters  were  met  by  Reverend  Francis 
Jouvenceau,  Vicar-General  of  Tucson,  who  was  sent  by  the 
Bishop  on  receipt  of  Reverend  Mother’s  delayed  letter,  to  accom¬ 
pany  them  over  the  remainder  of  the  journey.  He  came  pro¬ 
vided  with  fresh  horses,  tents,  plentiful  provisions,  and  a  boy 
to  prepare  their  meals,  cooked  in  the  open  over  fragrant  pine 
wood  fires,  all  of  which  thoughtful  preparation  for  their  comfort 
was  very  gratifying  to  the  travel- worn  Sisters.  The  next  week 
was  comparatively  pleasant,  as  they  traveled  at  night,  pitching 
tents  and  resting  during  the  heat  of  the  day.  After  passing 
through  the  valley  of  the  Pima  Indians,  they  were  met  on  May  24, 
by  a  detachment  of  United  States  cavalry,  sent  from  the  fort 
at  Tucson  to  conduct  them  through  a  dangerous  pass  near 
Picacho  Peak  in  which  a  massacre  by  the  Apaches  had  recently 
occurred.  Citizens  of  Tucson  and  miners  from  the  neighboring 
regions  joined  the  cavalcade  during  the  day,  and  with  much 
shouting  and  noise,  intended  to  deceive  any  lurking  natives  as 
to  their  number,  they  made  the  pass  in  safety.  Sister  Monica 
thus  describes  this  portion  of  their  journey: 

6  Diary  of  Sister  Monica,  Apr.  9,  1870. 


254  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

At  noon  we  reached  the  station  where  the  remainder  of  the  es¬ 
cort  from  Tucson  was  awaiting  us,  sixty-five  miles  from  the  city. 
There  was  great  rejoicing  among  them;  but  as  they  could  speak 
neither  French  nor  English,  we  did  not  understand  them.  At -five 
o’clock  in  the  afternoon,  we  set  out  again,  every  one  in  fine  spirits. 
All  passed  off  pleasantly  until  midnight.  We  were  then  approach¬ 
ing  Picacho  Peak,  where  the  Apaches  are  accustomed  to  attack 
travellers.  A  fearful  massacre  had  been  perpetrated  there  only 
a  week  previous.  The  road  winds  through  a  narrow  pass  in  the 
mountains,  where  the  Indians  conceal  themselves  and  throw  out 
their  poisoned  arrows  at  the  passers-by.  The  place  is  literally  filled 
with  graves,  sorrowful  monuments  of  savage  barbarity.  Each 
one  prepared  his  firearms,  even  good  Father  Francisco.  The  citi¬ 
zens  pressed  around  our  carriage.  The  soldiers  rode  about  like 
bloodhounds  in  search  of  prey.  In  going  through  the  pass,  the 
horses  began  to  neigh,  which  is  a  sure  indication  of  the  proximity 
of  the  savages.  “The  Indians !  The  Indians !”  was  echoed  from 
every  side.  Whip  and  spur  were  given  to  the  horses — we  went 
like  lightning,  the  men  yelling  all  the  while  to  frighten  the  natives. 
The  novelty  of  the  scene  kept  us  awake.  We  traveled  in  this  way 
until  four  o’clock  in  the  morning.7 

The  entrance  of  the  Sisters  into  Tucson,  which  was  reached 
on  the  evening  of  May  26,  was  spectacular.  They  were  met  three 
miles  outside  the  town  by  a  mounted  escort  and  a  long  train  of 
citizens,  estimated  at  three  thousand,  “some  discharging  firearms, 
others  bearing  lighted  torches,  all  walking  in  order,  with  heads 
uncovered.  The  city  was  illuminated,  fireworks  in  full  play. 
Balls  of  combustible  matter  were  thrown  in  the  streets  through 
which  we  passed.  At  each  explosion,  Sister  Euphrasia  made 
the  Sign  of  the  Cross.”  8  Amid  the  ringing  of  bells,  the  tired 
travelers,  worn  out  with  the  hardships  of  their  five  weeks’  jour¬ 
ney,  reached  the  convent,  where  they  were  welcomed  by  the 
Bishop  and  by  the  women  of  Tucson,  who,  after  serving  a  sub¬ 
stantial  repast,  left  them  in  quiet  possession  of  their  new  home. 

7  Ibid.,  May  25,  1870. 

8  Ibid.,  May  26,  1870. 


IN  ARIZONA  AND  CALIFORNIA 


255 


This  adjoined  the  Cathedral  of  Saint  Augustine  and  was  built 
after  the  fashion  of  the  country,  with  thick  adobe  walls,  earthen 
floors,  and  roof  of  sage-brush  and  cactus  interlaced  on  pine 
rafters  and  covered  with  mud.  It  was  one  story  in  height,  and 
its  ten  large  rooms  opened  into  many  courts,  cool  corridors  and 
vine  covered  porches.  A  double  row  of  trees  along  one  side 
protected  from  sun  and  the  frequent  sand  storms. 

The  population  of  Tucson  was  largely  Mexican,  and  as  has 
been  said,  almost  entirely  Catholic.  Spanish  was  the  prevailing 
language,  and  proved  easy  of  mastery  to  the  Sisters,  the  majority 
of  whom  were  French.  Both  English  and  Spanish  were  em¬ 
ployed  in  the  school,  which,  as  the  Bishop  had  anticipated,  was 
soon  filled  to  overflowing  with  eager  and  docile  boys  and  girls, 
and  became  popular  with  Catholics  and  non-Catholics  alike  as 
a  boarding  and  day  academy.  Such  it  remained  until  1885. 

Several  bands  of  Sisters  had  come  from  Carondelet  in  the 
meantime,  the  first  of  them  arriving  in  January  1874.  Negotia¬ 
tions  begun  in  the  fall  of  1873  for  the  opening  of  a  school  at 
the  old  Indian  mission  of  San  Xavier  del  Bac  under  government 
auspices  called  for  Bishop  Salpointe’s  presence  in  Washington, 
D.  C. ;  and  on  his  way  thither  he  stopped  at  the  Mother  House 
in  St.  Louis,  representing  to  Reverend  Mother  Agatha  while 
there  the  advisability  of  having  a  larger  number  of  Sisters  and 
more  mission  houses  in  the  far  West.  Three  Sisters  accom¬ 
panied  him  on  his  return  journey,  which  was  made  overland  by 
way  of  Denver.  During  a  brief  sojourn  in  that  city,  then  a 
frontier  town,  Bishop  Macheboeuf,  as  a  former  missionary  in 
Arizona,  gave  the  Sisters  the  benefit  of  his  experiences  among  the 
Papagos  in  the  vicinity  of  Tucson.  Leaving  Denver  on  Decem¬ 
ber  9,  our  travelers  were  able  to  make  only  a  small  part  of  their 
long  journey  by  rail.  They  were  obliged  to  go  by  stage  over 
Raton  Pass  to  Trinidad  in  southern  Colorado,  thence  to  Tucson 
in  the  same  manner  by  way  of  Las  Vegas  and  Santa  he.  Ihe 
stage  was  a  double  wagon  such  as  was  then  employed  in  caravan 
traffic,  the  bows  covered  with  gray  blankets;  and  one  of  the 


256  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

horses  was  discovered  to  be  blind.  A  snow  storm  overtook 
the  wayfarers  on  the  afternoon  of  December  13.  They  lost 
the  trail,  but  came  upon  a  sheep  ranch,  where  two  shepherds 
gave  up  to  them  their  own  small  hut.  This  contained  two 
rooms,  one  of  which  was  half  filled  with  grain.  In  the  other 
were  warm  buffalo  robes  and  a  fire,  beside  which  they  made 
themselves  comfortable,  resuming  their  journey  the  following 
morning  in  the  snow. 

On  December  16,  they  reached  Trinidad,  receiving  a  welcome 
there  from  the  Sisters  of  Charity;  arrived  at  Las  Vegas  in  time 
to  spend  the  Christmas  holidays  with  the  Sisters  of  Loretto, 
whose  guests  they  were  again  at  Santa  Fe.  Their  arrival  in 
Tucson  at  the  end  of  January  after  a  long  and  wearying  jour¬ 
ney,  was  hailed  with  delight  by  the  small  community  there. 
The  school  at  San  Xavier’s  had  been  commenced  the  preceding 
month  by  three  of  the  Sisters,  whose  places  at  St.  Augustine’s 
were  now  filled  by  the  new  comers. 

These  ten  Sisters  were  the  only  ones  in  all  of  Arizona;  and 
their  number  was  diminished  on  August  1,  1874,  by  the  death 
of  Sister  Emerentia,  Superior  at  the  academy.  Her  demise 
was  the  climax  to  a  life  of  great  self  sacrifice.  She  became 
a  member  of  the  community  in  France  in  1856,  and  three  years 
later  volunteered  for  the  American  missions,  coming  with  others 
of  her  community  to  Carondelet.  Again  a  volunteer  in  187a 
for  the  West,  she  bore  bravely  the  great  fatigue  of  the  journey 
and  the  privations  of  the  new  life,  all  of  which  eventually  under¬ 
mined  her  health.  Advised  by  physicians  to  leave  Arizona  for 
a  sojourn  at  a  health  resort  in  Mexico  as  the  only  means  of 
prolonging  her  life,  and  urged  by  them  and  by  the  Bishop  to 
do  so  at  once,  she  insisted  on  first  applying  to  the  Superior- 
General  fin  Carondelet  for  permission.  This  was  dispatched 
immediately;  but  owing  to  the  slow  transmission  of  the  mes¬ 
sage,  it  reached  Tucson  only  after  Sister  Emerentia’s  edifying 
death. 

Reverend  Mother  had  foreseen  from  the  first  the  impossibility 


IN  ARIZONA  AND  CALIFORNIA 


257 


of  direct  communication  with  these  far  distant  missions,  and 
the  difficulty  of  filling  vacancies  there  while  the  inconveniences 
of  travel  were  so  great  as  to  try  the  courage  of  even  the  most 
stout-hearted.  In  the  spring  of  1876,  Sisters  Basil  Morris, 
M.  Berchmans  Hartrich,  Mary  Rose  and  Eutichiana  Piccini, 
sent  from  the  Mother  House  to  reinforce  the  western  mission¬ 
aries,  reached  San  Francisco  by  rail,  boarded  there  an  ocean 
steamer  on  May  6,  which,  after  stopping  at  various  ports  on 
the  Pacific  coast,  rounded  Cape  San  Lucas  into  the  Gulf  of 
Lower  California,  and  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Colorado 
River  on  May  21.  A  river  boat  took  off  the  passengers  for 
Yuma,  which  was  reached  three  days  later.  The  remaining 
three  hundred  miles  into  southern  Arizona  were  covered  by 
stage,  and  required  ten  days  of  tedious  travel  over  cactus- 
bordered  roads  which  connected  the  small  Mexican  rancherias 
dotting  the  desert  thirty  or  forty  miles  apart.9 

To  obviate  the  difficulty  of  providing  Sisters  in  sufficient 
numbers  for  the  West,  Reverend  Mother  considered  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  a  Provincial  House  and  novitiate  there,  a  measure 
strongly  advocated  by  Bishop  Salpointe  as  the  most  satisfactory 
means  of  keeping  up  the  schools  and  other  institutions  needed 
in  his  diocese.  Accordingly,  after  arrangements  were  made 
with  the  Holy  See,  a  Provincial  Superior  was  appointed  in 
1876  in  the  person  of  Mother  Irene  Facemaz,  and  steps  were 
at  once  taken  for  the  opening  of  a  novitiate.  For  this  purpose 
a  beautiful  location  was  obtained  on  an  eminence  in  the  foot¬ 
hills  overlooking  the  city  of  Tucson.  On  the  north,  the  Santa 
Catalina  Range  and  to  the  south  the  Santa  Rita  Mountains, 
enclosing  the  Valley  of  Santa  Cruz,  bespoke  in  their  names 
the  Catholic  traditions  of  Arizona,  and  kept  alive  the  memory 
of  the  early  Jesuit  and  Franciscan  missionaries.  On  this  site 
a  building  was  soon  put  up  of  the  prevailing  materials,  adobe 

9  From  the  Diary  of  Sister  Berchmans  Hartrich,  June,  1876.  The  Southern 
Pacific  Road  was  in  operation  in  1878  between  San  Francisco  and  Los  Angeles, 
where  train  connection  could  be  made  for  Yuma.  But  it  was  not  until 
1882  that  the  entire  trip  to  Tucson  from  St.  Louis  could  be  made  by  train. 


258  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

roofed  with  sage  brush.  It  was  ridiculously  small  and  exem¬ 
plified  poverty  in  every  feature;  but  it  was  dignified  by  the 
name  of  Mount  St.  Joseph,  and  became  a  home  of  the  happiness 
and  peace  promised  to  those  who  forsake  the  world’s  goods-  for 
the  ‘Tolly  of  the  Cross.” 

Mother  Irene  remained  but  one  year  in  Arizona.  She  was 
succeeded  by  Mother  Basil  Morris,  who  served  one  term  of  three 
years.  It  was  during  this  time,  in  1878,  that  a  small  hospital 
was  begun  in  Prescott,  then  the  seat  of  government  in  the 
Territory.  In  1880,  another  was  inaugurated  by  Bishop  Sal- 
pointe,  who  bought  sixty  acres  of  land  opposite  Mount  St. 
Joseph  on  the  same  elevation,  and  put  up  the  first  of  the  stone 
buildings  known  as  St.  Mary’s  Hospital.  It  was  placed  in  care 
of  the  Sisters,  but  remained  under  diocesan  management  until 
after  the  arrival  of  Mother  Gonzaga  Grand,  Provincial  Superior 
from  1881  until  1890.  Mother  Gonzaga  was  widely  ex¬ 
perienced  in  the  affairs  of  the  Congregation.  She  had  been 
closely  connected  with  its  general  administration,  was  succes¬ 
sively  superior  in  many  of  its  large  houses,  and  had  governed 
the  Troy  province  for  eight  years.  Calm  and  serene  in  manner, 
and  remarkable  for  deep  piety  and  keen  spiritual  insight,  she 
had  also  acquired  practical  business  methods  during  her  long 
exercise  of  authority;  and  with  the  view  of  improving  the 
hospital  conditions,  she  negotiated  with  Bishop  Salpointe  for 
the  purchase  of  building  and  grounds,  which  became  the  prop¬ 
erty  of  the  Community  on  October  7,  1882.  She  then  secured 
a  desirable  place  for  a  convent  near  the  recently  erected  stone 
cathedral;  and  here  in  1885,  she  built  the  new  St.  Joseph’s 
Academy  for  girls,  the  old  one  at  St.  Augustine’s  being  retained 
as  a  parochial  school  for  boys  and  girls.  Both  schools  were 
well  patronized,  and  for  such  as  could  not  attend  either,  the 
Sisters  conducted  Catechism  classes  at  St.  Augustine’s  in  English 
and  in  Spanish. 

In  the  same  year,  1885,  Mother  Gonzaga,  advised  by  Bishop 
Bourgade,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  see  of  Tucson,  commenced 


IN  ARIZONA  AND  CALIFORNIA 


259 

at  Prescott  the  pioneer  Catholic  school  in  that  place,  and  closed 
the  hospital  opened  there  in  1878.  There  had  proved  to  be  little 
need  for  this  hospital,  which  at  the  time  of  its  inception,  received 
encouragement  and  financial  aid  from  John  C.  Fremont,  ap¬ 
pointed  Military  Governor  of  Arizona  in  that  year,  and  from 
his  estimable  wife,  a  Missourian,10  who  had  known  the  Sisters 
in  St.  Louis  during  the  Civil  War.  One  of  the  first  Sisters 
stationed  at  this  institution  was  Sister  Berchmans  Plartrich, 
whose  death  occurred  there  on  June  14,  1879.  The  pathetic 
scene  of  her  burial  is  briefly  described  by  Elizabeth  Benton 
Fremont,  daughter  of  the  Pathfinder: 

There  were  no  hearses  in  the  town,  and  so  the  top  was  removed 
from  an  army  ambulance;  and  with  General  Wilcox  and  my  young 
brother  Frank  representing  my  father  as  leading  pallbearers,  the 
mournful  procession  wended  its  way  to  the  lonely  graveyard  over 
the  hillside,  where  a  rude  grave  was  made,  and  loving  hands  covered 
it  with  wild  flowers  and  blooming  cactus.11 

The  academies  in  Prescott  and  Tucson,  as  the  only  Catholic 
institutions  of  the  kind  in  central  and  southern  Arizona,  rose 
rapidly  into  favor  and  prospered.  The  number  of  novices  re¬ 
ceived,  however,  remained  too  small  to  meet  the  need  for 
teachers  and  was  recruited  from  time  to  time  from  St.  Louis. 
The  healthful  climate  of  Tucson  made  the  convent  there  an 
asset  for  the  Congregation  at  large;  and  not  a  few  delicate 
novices  received  at  Carondelet  found  strength  and  vigor  while 
completing  their  term  of  probation  at  Mount  St.  Joseph.  There 
developed  few  vocations  in  the  Territory;  and  largely  on  ac¬ 
count  of  its  foreign  aspect  and  primitive  conditions,  Arizona 
as  a  place  of  residence  had  little  attraction  for  girls  of  other 
western  states  who  felt  the  call  to  a  religious  life.  These  went 
by  preference  to  St.  Louis,  and  the  admitting  and  training  of 
novices  in  Tucson  was  discontinued  indefinitely  after  a  religious 

10  Daughter  of  Thomas  H.  Benton,  Missouri’s  great  Senator. 

11  Recollections  of  Elizabeth  Benton  Fremont,  compiled  by  1.  c.  martin, 
p.  16 1.  New  York,  1912. 


260  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

profession  in  March  1890,  when  five  Sisters,  the  last  received 
at  Mount  St.  Joseph,  made  their  vows.  The  old  novitiate  was, 
at  Bishop  Bourgade’s  request,  converted  into  a  home  for  or¬ 
phans,  where  a  ’limited  number  of  children,  never  exceeding 
twenty-five,  was  received  and  cared  for  by  the  Sisters  out  of 
their  extremely  limited  resources  until  the  building  was  de¬ 
stroyed  by  a  cyclone  which  swept  the  state  in  1901. 

Academies  were  begun  in  the  interval  at  San  Diego  and 
Los  Angeles;  a  parish  school  at  Florence,  Arizona,  which  was 
short-lived;  others  in  Oakland,  Monterey  and  Oxnard;  a  deaf- 
mute  institute  in  Oakland;  Indian  missions  at  Fort  Yuma,  San 
Diego  (Old  Town),  and  Banning,  all  in  California;  and  at 
Komatke  in  Arizona. 

At  Yuma,  Arizona,  was  the  Sacred  Heart  School,  to  which 
the  Sisters  were  first  sent  from  Tucson  in  1875.  The  first 
settlers  of  Yuma  were  attracted  to  it  by  the  discovery  of  placer 
gold  mines  in  the  vicinity;  but  when  these  proved  less  lucrative 
than  was  anticipated,  the  seekers  after  wealth  departed;  and 
the  permanent  residents  who  followed  devoted  themselves  to 
other  pursuits.  They  were  home  makers,  mostly  of  Spanish 
nationality;  and  their  gardens,  orchards  and  vineyards  inci¬ 
dentally  added  beauty  to  a  picturesque  landscape.  In  February, 
1891,  a  great  flood  occurred,  when,  after  continuous  heavy  rains, 
the  Gila  River  left  its  banks,  sweeping  away  all  the  adobe  build¬ 
ings  in  its  path,  including  convent,  school  and  rectory,  and 
destroying  half  the  business  and  residence  sections  of  the  place. 

The  church,  on  slightly  higher  ground,  was  saved  by  the  men 
from  a  nearby  Federal  prison,  who,  under  the  direction  of 
officers,  erected  around  it  a  protecting  levee.  The  Sisters 
escaped  across  the  Colorado  River  to  Fort  Yuma,  and  from  the 
higher  level  there,  watched  with  regret  the  submerging  of  the 
little  city  and  the  melting  of  the  walls  that  held  all  their  earthly 
goods.  One  piano,  which  the  eager  but  excited  rescuers  seized 
on  as  the  convent’s  most  valuable  asset,  was  carted  by  them  in 
triumph  across  the  bridge.  Much  distress  followed  the  flood, 


ST.  MARY’S  ACADEMY  AND  PROVINCIAL  HOUSE,  LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA 


- 


- 


•- 

• . 


■ 


/ 


. 


' 


1  ' 


' 


IN  ARIZONA  AND  CALIFORNIA  261 

which  left  three  hundred  people  homeless.  The  Sisters  did 
not  return,  though  the  school  was  later  rebuilt. 

The  other  institutions  of  Arizona  began  a  remarkable  develop¬ 
ment  in  the  nineties  which  kept  pace  with  the  growth  and 
prosperity  of  the  State.  In  1893,  Sister  Fidelia  McMahon  was 
appointed  Superior  of  St.  Mary’s  Hospital,  which  until  then, 
consisted  of  the  original  stone  building  put  up  by  Bishop  Sal- 
pointe.  Sister  Fidelia  remained  twenty  years  in  charge  of  the 
institution,  and  under  her  supervision,  two  large  wings,  the 
first  erected  in  1894,  were  added  to  the  main  building,  more 
than  trebling  the  size  of  the  hospital.  In  1900  was  constructed 
the  unique  Sanatorium,  a  perfect  rotunda,  encircling  an  open 
court  and  graden,  with  all  rooms  opening  on  wide  verandas. 
Numerous  tent  houses  for  individual  patients,  and  Isolation 
Hospital  and  Nurses’  Home  completed  the  institution,  each  de¬ 
partment  of  which  is  supervised  by  graduate  nurses,  whose 
three  years’  training  is  obtained  at  St.  Mary’s  under  an  ex¬ 
perienced  staff  of  physicians. 

St.  Mary’s  received  a  temporary  check  to  its  progress  when 
the  storm  of  1901  tore  out  the  front  of  the  main  building  with 
the  exception  of  the  entrance,  over  which — auspicious  omen — 
a  large  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  remained  undisturbed. 
The  irreparable  damage  inflicted  by  the  same  storm  on  the 
orphan  asylum  proved  the  proverbial  blessing  in  disguise.  The 
children  were  sent  to  relatives  or  placed  in  private  families 
until  1905,  when  they  were  gathered  together  again  in  the  new 
St.  Joseph’s  Home.  This  was  put  up  on  an  elevated  tract  of 
forty  acres  two  miles  south  of  the  city,  given  to  the  Sisters  by 
Peter  Lonergan,  a  resident  of  Tucson.  The  great  main  build¬ 
ing,  finely  proportioned  in  Old  Mission  style,  and  gleaming 
white  through  groves  of  pepper  trees  and  oleander,  was  planned 
for  the  accommodation  of  one  hundred  boys  and  girls.  The 
home  is  supported  by  voluntary  contribution;  and  the  children, 
after  receiving  a  complete  primary  and  grammar  school  education, 
are  placed  in  good  homes  or  in  lucrative  positions.  Its  records 


262  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

fail  to  show  one  child  whose  later1  career  has  not  reflected 
credit  on  his  early  training  at  St.  Joseph’s. 

At  Prescott,  in  1904,  a  mission  building  of  native  granite 
on  the  pine  hills  overlooking  the  city  was  erected  under  the 
direction  of  the  Superior,  Sister  Aurelia  Mary  Doyle,  and 
equipped  for  academic  and  commercial  work,  to  replace  the  old 
academy,  the  first,  and  for  many  years  the  only  secondary  school 
in  Prescott,  whose  alumnae,  singularly  successful,  were  occupy¬ 
ing  positions  of  prominence  in  the  social,  business  and  educa¬ 
tional  life  of  the  state.  St.  Joseph’s  Academy  in  Tucson,  en¬ 
larged  and  transformed  by  numerous  improvements  to  meet 
modern  conditions,  became  also  a  temporary  novitiate,  previous 
to  the  transfer  of  the  provincial  government  to  Los  Angeles. 
This  was  effected  in  1903  with  the  approval  of  Right  Reverend 
Bishop  Conaty  of  the  See  of  Monterey  and  Los  Angeles,  and 
of  His  Excellency,  Diomede  Falconio,  Apostolic  Delegate. 

Nine  mission  houses  had  been  established  in  California  at 
that  time.  The  first  of  these,  to  which  the  Sisters  were  sent 
in  1882,  was  at  San  Diego,  a  place  of  hallowed  associations, 
inseparably  connected  with  the  history  of  the  Church  in  that 
state.  Here  Junipero  Serra  landed  with  his  devoted  mission¬ 
aries  in  1769,  and  began  the  work  of  evangelization  which  gave 
to  California  its  Mission  Churches  and  its  heritage  of  Christian 
faith.  Near  the  banks  of  the  San  Diego  River,  on  a  hill  over¬ 
looking  the  bay  and  the  harbor,  he  raised  a  cross  on  July  16, 
and  on  a  rude  altar  under  the  trees  celebrated  the  Holy  Sacrifice 
of  the  Mass.12  On  the  hill  he  prayed  for  nine  momentous  days 
that  help  might  be  sent  his  starving  neophytes,  else  this  first 
of  his  mission  settlements  must  be  abandoned;  and  from  its 
summit,  on  March  19,  1770,  the  day  before  that  set  for  his 
departure  to  more  prosperous  fields,  he  watched  the  arrival  of 
the  relief  ship,  San  Antonio.13  Six  miles  up  the  river  in  lovely 

12  Zephyrin  engelhardt,  O.  F.  M.  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California, 
vol.  II,  p.  19.  San  Francisco,  1912. 

13  Francisco  Palou,  Noticias  de  la  Nueva  California.  Tomo  II.  p.  25 7. 
San  Francisco,  California.  Ed.  of  1874.  englehardt,  op  cit.,  p.  64. 


IN  ARIZONA  AND  CALIFORNIA 


263 

Mission  Valley,  he  built  his  church  and  established  a  permanent 
mission;  14  and  on  the  place  of  his  landing,  there  sprang  up 
in  later  years  what  was  known  as  Old  Town. 

In  1866,  Father  Antonio  Ubach  was  appointed  pastor  of  Old 
Town,  where  a  small  church  was  built  in  1850,  four  years  after 
the  last  of  the  mission  property  was  sold  by  Pio  Pico,  Mexican 
Governor  of  California.  To  Father  Ubach’s  care  fell  the  rem¬ 
nant  of  the  Mission  Indians,  who  had  been  neglected  since  the 
expulsion  of  the  Franciscans.  The  noble  race  appealed  to  his 
great  heart,  and  the  betterment  of  their  condition  became  one 
of  the  leading  motives  of  his  life.  In  order  to  obtain  teachers 
for  them  and  also  for  a  school  in  San  Diego,  to  which  he  had 
transferred  his  residence  from  Old  Town,  he  applied  to  Rev¬ 
erend  Mother  Agatha,  making  a  visit  to  Carondelet  for  that 
purpose.  It  was  a  great  disappointment  to  him  that  both  of 
his  requests  could  not  be  acceded  to  at  that  time,  and  that  the 
one  refused  was  the  one  which  he  had  most  at  heart,  the  sending 
of  teachers  to  the  Mission  Indians. 

This  was  deferred  for  several  years,  but  on  April  18,  1882, 
the  first  community,  consisting  of  Sisters  Ambrosia  O’Neill, 
Eutichiana  Piccini,  Amelia  Leon,  and  Coletta  Dumbach,  arrived 
at  San  Diego.  On  May  10,  they  began  their  day  school  in  a 
small  frame  house  on  a  terrace  overlooking  the  bay,  registering 
on  that  day  twenty-eight  girls  and  two  boys.  On  June  13,  the 
first  Mass  was  said  in  the  tiny  chapel  of  the  convent,  which  was 
dedicated  to  Our  Lady  of  Peace.  Small  and  poor  in  its  begin¬ 
ning,  it  was  the  grain  of  mustard  seed  sown  in  fertile  soil;  and 
in  1884,  was  removed  to  a  new  site,  where  three  years  later  the 
main  building  of  an  academy  for  both  boarders  and  day  pupils 
was  put  up  by  the  Superior,  Sister  Valeria  Bradshaw,  who  also 
erected  in  1893  an  additional  hall  containing  music  rooms,  art 
studios  and  an  auditorium  with  a  seating  capacity  of  six  hun¬ 
dred. 

14  Mission  San  Diego.  It  was  here  that  Father  Luis  Jayme  suffered 
martyrdom  at  the  hands  of  hostile  Indians. 


264  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Sister  Valeria  was  a  woman  of  high  ideals  and  broad  vision. 
She  had  a  rare  faculty  for  making  and  keeping  friends  for 
herself  and  for  the  Congregation,  to  which  she  was  devotedly 
attached.  To  promote  its  best  interests,  and  to  do  all  the  good 
possible  to  everyone  with  whom  she  came  in  contact,  were  the 
great  aims  of  her  beautiful  life.  Her  gentleness  and  refinement, 
her  kind  thoughtfulness  for  others,  and  above  all  her  charity  for 
the  poor  and  suffering  and  her  remarkable  tact  in  rendering  them 
assistance,  won  her  the  love  and  respect  of  all  classes.  To  the 
members  of  her  own  household  she  was  a  continual  inspiration; 
to  all  the  missions  of  the  Congregation  in  California  a  bene¬ 
factress  by  her  sympathy  at  all  times,  and  by  her  advice  and 
material  aid  whenever  these  were  needed. 

Sister  Valeria  remained  in  charge  of  the  academy  ten  years. 
She  was  succeeded  by  Sister  Margaret  Mary  Brady,  who  main¬ 
tained  the  high  standard  set  by  her  predecessor  for  the  institu¬ 
tion.  The  progress  of  the  pupils  at  Our  Lady  of  Peace,  and 
the  character  of  their  attainments  were  illustrated  on  the  occa¬ 
sion  of  its  twenty-fifth  anniversary.  The  preparations  for 
properly  celebrating  this  event  were  commenced  in  1907  by  the 
people  of  San  Diego,  loyal  supporters  of  the  academy.  The 
death  of  Father  Ubach,  its  life-long  friend,  occurred  in  March 
of  that  year;  and  the  anniversary  exercises,  in  which  he  would 
have  proudly  participated  as  the  co-worker  of  the  Sisters  for 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  were  postponed  until  June  11  of  the 
following  year.  A  mission  play,  Carmelita,  was  composed  in 
commemoration  of  the  occasion  by  an  alumna,  Madge  Mannix, 
daughter  of  Mary  E.  Mannix,  whose  delightful  stories  for 
children  find  a  place  in  every  Catholic  library.  The  artistic  play 
was  enacted  by  the  girls  of  the  academy  before  an  enthusiastic 
audience,  the  gifted  young  author  assuming  the  title  role. 

The  Los  Angeles  Tidings  of  September  21,  1921,  paid  tribute 
to  the  efficiency  of  the  academy : 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  work  done  by  the  Sisters  who  for 
tso  many  years  have  promoted  the  growth  of  the  Academy  of  Our 


IN  ARIZONA  AND  CALIFORNIA 


265 

Lady  of  Peace,  in  addition  to  which  they  supervise  the  parochial 
schools  of  the  city.  They  have  not  only  labored  in  the  cause  of 
educational  expansion  and  influenced  the  ambitions  and  aims  of  the 
young  women  of  San  Diego,  but  have  also  earnestly  sought  the 
promotion  of  that  truer  education  which  results  in  refinement  of 
mind  and  the  achieving  of  standards  and  ideals. 

The  parochial  schools  attended  from  the  academy  are  St. 
Joseph’s,  St.  John’s  and  Our  Lady  of  the  Angels.  The  growth 
of  the  city  gradually  bringing  the  business  districts  into  close 
proximity  to  the  convent  property  moved  the  Academy  Corpora¬ 
tion  to  seek  a  new  site  on  Mission  Hills,  unsurpassed  for  beauty, 
and  full  of  historic  interest  as  overlooking  the  lower  height 
from  which  Father  Serra  watched  with  longing  eyes  for  the 
San  Antonio. 

The  second  mission  of  the  Congregation  in  California  was 
in  Oakland,  to  which  place  Reverend  Mother  Agatha  accom¬ 
panied  the  first  band  of  Sisters  in  the  fall  of  1883.  They  went 
on  the  invitation  of  Reverend  Bernard  McNally,  the  zealous 
pastor  of  St.  Patrick’s  parish,  and  a  prominent  figure  in  the 
educational  work  of  the  Archdiocese  of  San  Francisco.  Five 
Sisters  composed  the  first  teaching  staff,  with  Sister  Florence 
Benigna  O'Reilly,  a  young  woman  of  earnest  purpose  and  lofty 
ideals,  as  Superior.  They  organized  on  January  1,  1884,  St. 
Joseph’s  Institute,  a  school  for  girls  and  small  boys.  Two  hun¬ 
dred  pupils  were  received,  and  the  number  increased  so  rapidly 
that  two  Sisters  were  added  to  the  teaching  faculty  the  following 
summer.  Temporary  quarters  only  had  been  used,  and  in 
August  1885,  the  school  and  convent  were  built.  New  class 
and  music  rooms  were  added  in  1888.  In  1886,  Sister  Florence 
was  replaced  by  Sister  Xavier  Mahoney,  and  succeeding  Su¬ 
periors  were  Sisters  Columba  Banyard,  Louis  Nugent,  and  Julia 
Ford,  who  in  1907,  was  transferred  to  the  Eastern  Province  as 
directress  of  schools.  A  commercial  department  for  girls  com¬ 
menced  in  1909  met  with  great  success;  and  in  1912,  on  the 
departure  of  the  Christian  Brothers,  who  had  taught  the  large 


266  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

boys,  their  school  was  taken  over  by  the  Sisters.  The  separate 
arrangement  of  classes  was  preserved  until  the  following  year, 
when,  under  the  direction  of  Sister  Demetria  Reynolds,  then  in 
charge  of  the  Institute,  co-education  was  introduced.  The 
death  of  Father  McNally  in  1913  bereft  the  school  and  com¬ 
munity  of  a  devoted  father  and  friend,  one  who  had  promoted 
the  interests  of  both  for  thirty  years. 

For  eighteen  years,  Father  McNally  was  also  the  friend  and 
active  patron  of  the  Deaf-Mute  Institute  commenced  in  Oakland 
in  1895.  This  benevolent  undertaking  was  due  to  Margaret 
McCourtney,  a  charitable  widow,  who  gave  for  that  purpose  her 
estate  in  what  was  then  a  suburb  of  Oakland  known  as  Temescal. 
She  obtained  from  Archbishop  Riordan  the  necessary  permission 
for  its  foundation,  and  requested  that  it  be  given  into  the  care 
of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph.  The  first  teachers,  Sisters  Alphon- 
sus  Peters  and  Rose  Catherine  Casey,  were  sent  from  the  deaf- 
mute  school  in  St.  Louis,  and  the  institution  was  placed  in  charge 
of  Sister  Valeria  Bradshaw,  who  was  assisted  in  her  undertaking 
by  numerous  friends  and  benefactors.  Without  endowment,  and 
almost  wholly  dependent  on  charity,  the  home  was  never  able 
to  support  large  numbers;  but  its  influence  among  adult  deaf 
through  the  St.  Francis  de  Sales’  Society  for  religious  training 
and  for  the  promotion  of  social  intercourse  among  Catholics  of 
this  class  was  widespread  in  the  city  and  its  environs.  An 
Ephpheta  Society,  actively  interested  in  the  work  of  the  school, 
numbers  four  hundred  members. 

On  January  6,  1889,  five  Sisters  from  Carondelet,  accom¬ 
panied  by  Reverend  Mother  Agatha,  arrived  at  Los  Angeles, 
and  were  met  by  Sister  Valeria,  who  had  come  from  San  Diego 
to  supervise  the  equipping  of  St.  Mary’s  Academy,  built  in  St. 
Vincent’s  parish  by  Reverend  Father  Meyer,  of  the  Congrega¬ 
tion  of  the  Mission.  On  Monday  following  the  arrival  of  the 
Sisters,  the  school  was  opened  under  the  direction  of  Sister 
Evelyn  O'Neill  with  an  attendance  of  sixty-five  pupils.  Year 
by  year,  it  extended  its  influence  and  activities,  and  in  1903, 


IN  ARIZONA  AND  CALIFORNIA  267 

already  enlarged  by  the  erection  of  a  new  wing  to  the  original 
structure,  was  occupying  two  buildings,  to  which  a  third  was 
added  in  1904.  On  May  1,  1903,  His  Excellency,  Diomede 
Falconio,  celebrated  Mass  in  St.  Mary’s  chapel,  his  first  on 
California  soil,  and  imparted  the  Papal  blessing  to  the  assembled 
community  and  students.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  the 
initial  arrangements  were  made  for  the  transfer  of  the  Provincial 
House  to  Los  Angeles.  In  the  following  November,  Mother 
Elizabeth  Parrott,  Provincial  Superior,  who  had  been  residing 
in  Tucson,  took  up  her  official  residence  at  St.  Mary’s;  and  on 
March  19,  1904,  six  postulants  received  the  habit  of  the  Sister¬ 
hood  from  the  hands  of  Bishop  Conaty,  and  formed  the  nucleus 
of  the  California  novitiate. 

In  the  fall  of  1906,  Mother  Llerman  Joseph  O’Gorman  as 
Provincial  Superior,  arrived  in  Los  Angeles,  which  had  grown 
from  the  small  pueblo  of  the  early  nineties  to  a  large  and  enter¬ 
prising  center.  St.  Mary’s  was  again  calling  for  greater  accom¬ 
modations,  and  a  twenty  acre  tract  had  been  selected  southwest 
of  the  city,  on  rising  ground  eight  miles  from  the  ocean.  The 
site  commanded  a  fine  view  of  the  city  and  the  Sierra  Madre 
Range  on  the  north  and  east,  and  the  slopes  of  the  Palos  Verdes 
on  the  south.  Here  on  June  15,  1910,  the  corner  stone  of  the 
new  St.  Mary’s  was  laid  by  Bishop  Conaty,  who,  also,  on  August 
19  of  the  following  year,  blessed  and  dedicated  the  completed 
structure. 

Built  in  Spanish  Mission  style,  it  embodied  the  best  traditions 
of  that  form  of  architecture,  the  interior  arrangements  being  in 
keeping  with  the  general  design.  Deep  arcades,  flower-filled 
patios,  and  pergolas  in  the  midst  of  tropical  gardens,  form  at¬ 
tractive  external  features;  and  within  the  attention  is  arrested 
by  well-lighted  studios  looking  out  on  unrivaled  views;  the 
library  with  its  rich  collection  of  rare  books  and  paintings; 
and  the  chapel,  where  a  perfect  harmony  of  tone  and  color — 
the  work  of  the  Tiffany  Studios  of  New  York — produces  an 
effect  of  beauty  more  easily  visioned  than  described.  Besides 


268  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

the  novitiate  and  community  apartments,  the  academy  contains 
accommodations  for  four  hundred  students. 

At  the  dedication  of  St.  Mary’s,  attended  by  scores  of  en¬ 
thusiastic  friends  and  patrons,  Bishop  Conaty  reviewed  the  work 
of  the  Sisters,  referring  in  grateful  terms  to  their  honorable 
record  in  the  West,  the  heroism  of  their  lives,  and  the  sacrifices 
made  by  them  from  the  time  of  their  original  foundation  at 
Tucson  in  1870  to  their  latest  achievement  in  his  episcopal  city. 
He  expressed  the  confident  hope  that  the  new  St.  Mary’s 

would  grow  and  flourish  and  be  in  the  future  even  more  than  in 
the  past  a  center  of  power  by  which  the  Church  of  God  might  reach 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people  and  bring  them  to  a  better 
knowledge  of  God  and  a  greater  love  for  the  things  of  religion. 

That  it  realized  this  hope  is  evident  in  the  later  careers  of  its 
two  hundred  graduates,  and  in  the  large  enrollment  of  pupils 
drawn  from  Mexico  and  British  Columbia,  from  every  State 
between  the  Pacific  and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  from 
Missouri,  Alabama,  Minnesota,  Dakota  and  the  District  of 
Columbia.  The  class  of  1911  sent  four  of  its  members  to  the 
novitiate,  where  they  were  followed  by  others  of  succeeding 
classes;  and  several  of  its  alumnae  fill  responsible  positions  in 
the  University  of  California,  to  which  the  academy  is  affiliated. 
Closely  associated  with  the  growth  of  St.  Mary’s  since  1899  is 
Mother  St.  Catherine  Beavers  to  whose  ability  and  foresight  is 
largely  due  its  broad  cultural  development.  She  was  named  Pro¬ 
vincial  Superior  in  1916,  to  succeed  Mother  Marcella  Manifold, 
whose  death  occurred  that  year  after  a  brief  illness  in  Tucson 
during  her  visitation  of  the  province. 

Mother  Marcella  had  given  much  care  and  attention  to  unify¬ 
ing  the  work  of  the  parochial  schools,  which  were  multiplying 
rapidly.  For  sixteen  years,  from  1898  until  1914,  San  Carlos 
School  in  Monterey  was  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph. 
In  1905,  St.  Joseph’s  Institute  at  Oxnard,  California,  and  in  1906, 
Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  for  Spanish  speaking  children  were  added 


IN  ARIZONA  AND  CALIFORNIA 


269 


to  the  list.  A  school  under  the  patronage  of  the  Star  of  the 
Sea,  opened  in  San  Francisco  December  8,  1908,  numbered  at 
the  end  of  ten  years  seven  hundred  pupils,  and  had  increased  its 
faculty  from  five  to  sixteen  teachers.  Two  of  its  alumni  in  the 
ecclesiastical  Seminary  at  Menlo  Park,  forty  boys  in  the  service 
of  their  country,  and  five  of  its  girl  graduates  in  the  novitiate 
at  Los  Angeles,  is  the  enviable  record  of  its  first  decade.  St. 
Vincent’s,  Holy  Cross,  St.  Patrick’s,  and  St.  Cecelia’s  Schools 
in  Los  Angeles;  St.  James’  at  Redondo  Beach,  and  Our  Lady 
of  Victory  in  Fresno,  complete  the  line  of  California  missions, 
another  cantina  real,  which  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  have  fol¬ 
lowed  along  the  earlier  road  traced  by  Father  Serra  and  his 
devoted  missionaries  from  San  Diego  to  San  Francisco. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

MISSIONARY  WORK  AMONG  THE  WESTERN  INDIANS 

In  the  center  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Valley,  nine  miles  from  Tuc¬ 
son,  lies  the  old  mission  church  of  San  Xavier  del  Bac.  The 
Mission  was  founded  in  1700  by  the  Jesuit,  Father  Kino,  for 
the  Indians  whom  he  first  met  there  in  1692,  and  whom  he 
designates  in  his  diary  as  the  Sobaipuris  of  the  north.  “I  found 
the  natives  very  affable  and  friendly,”  he  wrote  August  23,  1692, 
“and  particularly  so  in  the  principal  rancheria  of  San  Xavier 
del  Baac,  which  contains  more  than  eight  hundred  souls.”  1 
They  listened  eagerly  to  his  instructions  and  signified  their  wish 
to  become  Christians.  On  his  fourth  visit  to  them,  which,  in 
company  with  two  Jesuit  companions  and  three  soldiers,  he  made 
in  October  1699,  “more  than  forty  boys  came  forth  to  meet  us 
with  crosses  in  their  hands,  and  there  were  more  than  three 
hundred  Indians  drawn  up  in  line  just  as  in  the  pueblos  of  the 
ancient  Christians.  Afterward,  we  counted  more  than  a  thou¬ 
sand  souls.”  2 

In  1700,  Father  Kino  determined  to  build  a  temple  to  the 
Lord,  and  on  April  28  that  year 

began  the  foundation  of  a  very  large  and  capacious  church  and 
house  of  San  Xavier  del  Baac,  all  the  many  people  working  with 
much  pleasure  and  zeal,  some  in  digging  for  the  foundations, 
others  in  hauling  many  and  good  stones  of  tezontle  from  a  little 
hill  which  was  about  a  quarter  of  a  league  away.3 

What  progress  was  made  at  that  time  on  the  church,  Father 
Kino  does  not  say.  He  makes  but  one  other  mention  of  it  in 
his  Memoirs,  which  end  in  1711 ;  but  that  the  praotical  mission- 

aKiNO,  op.  cit.,  vol.  I,  p.  122. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  I,  p.  205. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  I,  p.  235. 

270 


INDIAN  MISSIONS 


271 

ary  was  building  for  the  future  is  evident  from  the  manner  in 
which  the  work  was  carried  on: 

For  the  mortar  for  the  foundations,  it  was  not  necessary  to  haul 
water,  because  by  means  of  irrigation  ditches,  we  very  easily  con¬ 
ducted  the  water  where  we  wished.  And  that  house  with  its 
great  court  and  garden  near  by  will  be  able  to  have  throughout 
the  year  all  the  water  it  may  need,  running  to  any  place  or  work¬ 
room  one  may  please,  and  one  of  the  greatest  and  best  fields  in 
all  Nueva  Biscaya.4 

In  1768,  after  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits,  Father  Garces, 
one  of  fourteen  Franciscans  sent  from  the  College  of  Queretaro 
in  Mexico  to  carry  on  the  work  of  the  earlier  missionaries,  was 
assigned  to  San  Xavier.  The  dozen  or  more  years  which  he 
spent  there  were  years  of  great  hardship.  He  was  entirely 
devoid  of  personal  comfort,  his  bed  the  bare  ground,  his  food 
consisting  often  of  roasted  corn  and  wild  thistles,  the  rude  fare 
of  the  Indians,  whom  he  won  “by  his  zeal  in  accommodating 
himself  to  their  barbarous  customs.”  5  His  successors,  begin¬ 
ning  in  1783,  continued  to  build  in  a  rare  setting  of  white  desert 
and  green  mountain,  the  splendid  architectural  pile,  the  church 
of  San  Xavier,  their  own  memorial  in  an  alien  land,  the  com¬ 
pletion  of  which  required  fourteen  years.  The  church  of  white 
stone  and  brick  was  cruciform,  with  two  square  towers,  carved 
fagade,  and  rounded  dome  above  the  tile-roofed  transept.  Fres¬ 
cos  and  statues  of  martyrs  and  apostles  adorned  the  interior,  and 
a  harmonious  chime  of  bells,  cast  at  the  Mission,  called  the 
natives  to  morning  prayers,  said  in  common  on  the  square  before 
the  church,  to  Mass  and  breakfast,  and  then  to  work. 

The  overthrow  of  colonial  government  in  Mexico  in  1822, 
and  the  subsequent  confiscation  of  the  property  of  the  Church, 
spelled  doom  for  this  as  well  as  for  so  many  prosperous  settle¬ 
ments.  When  Arizona  was  annexed  to  the  diocese  of  Santa  Fe 
in  1859,  the  Indians  of  San  Xavier,  though  years  without  a 

4  Ibid.,  p.  236. 

5  J.  B.  Salpointe,  San  Xainer  del  Baac,  p.  6.  Phamphlet,  San  Francisco, 
1880. 


272  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

resident  priest,  were  found  to  have  retained  the  Faith,  were  of 
excellent  moral  character,  and  had  not  forgotten  the  prayers 
taught  them  in  Spanish  by  the  early  missionaries.  They  could 
even  sing  parts  of  the  Mass,  and  a  pious  chief  had  kept  in  Tiis 
possession  the  gold  and  silver  vessels  of  the  church,  chalices, 
monstrance,  cruets  and  censer,  lest  these  should  be  lost  or  stolen.6 

The  buildings  were  in  a  ruinous  condition  and  no  trace  re¬ 
mained  of  the  marvelous  mission  life  of  early  days,  when,  in 
1873,  the  first  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  were  sent  to  San  Xavier. 
The  Papago  tribe,  numbering  then  about  four  hundred,  was 
under  the  protection  of  the  United  States  Government,  and  the 
Indian  agent  there  had  asked  for  Catholic  teachers.  East  of  the 
church  was  the  mission  cloister,  of  which  six  rooms  remained, 
two  adjoining  the  tower,  the  other  forming  a  south  wing.  These 
were  put  in  repair  by  the  Government  with  the  sanction  of 
Bishop  Salpointe,  and  used  for  class  rooms.  The  school  was 
proceeding  prosperously,  when  in  April  1876,  it  was  discon¬ 
tinued  by  an  order  from  the  Interior  Department  consolidating 
the  Papago  Agency  with  that  of  the  Pimas. 

The  Papagos  remained  without  an  agent  or  any  educational 
provision  for  twelve  years,  until  in  1888  the  Sisters  were  called 
a  second  time  to  San  Xavier.  In  September  of  that  year,  Sisters 
Florence  Benigna  O’Reilly,  Bernadette  Smith,  and  Agnes  Orosco 
went  from  Tucson,  to  find  the  school  again  in  a  dilapidated  con¬ 
dition  and  the  natives  suffering  from  long  years  of  neglect. 
With  patient  labor  these  three  Sisters  made  a  few  rooms  habit¬ 
able,  and  protected  themselves  as  best  they  could  from  the  noc¬ 
turnal  visits  of  innumerable  bats  that  found  a  hiding  place  by 
day  in  the  cactus  covering  of  the  broken  roof.  A  small  room 
in  the  church  tower  was  their  chapel,  reached  by  a  single  narrow 
stairway  cut  out  of  the  thick  rock  wall. 

In  January,  1889,  Sister  Aquina  Duffy  became  a  member  of 
the  small  staff  at  San  Xavier;  and  when  the  Sisters,  who  at 
first  returned  every  Friday  evening  to  Tucson,  began  to  reside 

6  J.  D.  Salpointe,  Soldiers  of  the  Cross,  p.  227.  Banning  California,  1898. 


MISSION  SAN  XAVIER  DEL  BAC,  ARIZONA 


INDIAN  MISSIONS 


273 


permanently  at  the  mission,  she  was  made  Superior,  and  spent 
thirty  years  in  that  capacity  among  the  Papagos.  To  her  exer¬ 
tions  and  self-sacrifice  are  principally  due  the  wonderful  results 
accomplished  in  that  time.  When  the  Sisters  arrived,  these 
people  had  reverted  in  their  manner  of  living  to  the  first  stages 
of  civilization.  They  had  never  been  nomadic,  and  at  this  time 
they  lodged  in  huts  called  “wickiups/’  made  of  sticks  and  straw, 
with  very  low  doors  and  no  windows.  Their  principal  food 
was  the  mesquite  bean  cooked  in  water.  To  this  was  added  a 
deer  or  other  wild  game,  whenever,  on  very  rare  occasions,  a 
native  overcame  his  indolence  sufficiently  to  use  a  bow  and  arrow. 
Their  cooking  was  done  out  of  doors,  and  the  bare  floors  of  the 
wickiups  served  as  receptacles  for  all  utensils.  Cleanliness  and 
work  of  any  kind  were  alike  unknown  to  them.  The  women 
and  girls  were  scantily  clothed,  the  men  and  boys  used  blankets; 
and  all,  with  the  exception  of  the  very  young  children,  who  were 
left  neglected  at  home,  played  with  balls,  which  the  men  kicked 
before  them  for  miles,  spending  nearly  the  entire  day  in  this 
sport.  The  time  which  was  not  devoted  to  play  was  given  up 
to  tribal  dances  on  the  mountains,  in  which  all  the  adults  took 
part ;  and  the  children  ran  wild  and  unclad  about  the  village. 

These  the  Sisters  gathered  up  and  brought  to  school,  where  the 
first  exercise  of  the  day  was  an  ablution,  not  always  willingly 
submitted  to  by  the  little  Papagos.  Gradually,  thirty  children 
were  registered  as  regular  attendants.  In  order  to  reach  the 
parents,  few  of  whom  then  knew  either  English  or  good  Spanish, 
it  was  necessary  to  speak  their  language.  After  two  years 
study  of  this,  Sister  Aquina  was  able  to  converse  with  them. 
She  visited  their  huts,  access  to  which  was  neither  easy  nor 
agreeable;  and  after  repeated  efforts,  induced  the  women  to  give 
up  games  and  care  for  their  homes  and  children.  Long  after 
stoves  were  placed  in  their  huts,  they  continued  their  out  door 
preparation  of  meals;  and  ten  years  elapsed  before  any  of  the 
village  women  would  use  a  sewing  machine.  The  first  machine 
at  the  Mission  was  a  curiosity,  and  drew  hundreds  to  see  it. 


274  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

The  school  girls  were  adepts  before  their  mothers  would  dare  to 
touch  the  humming  instrument  that  wrought  such  wonders  as 
they  saw  performed  with  thread  and  cloth.  Finally  a  Papago 
woman,  more  venturesome  than  her  timid  sisters,  tried  her 
skill ;  and  her  delight  over  her  own  unsuspected  ability  was  com¬ 
municated  to  others,  who  promptly  emulated  her  example. 

In  1896,  the  school  had  so  increased  in  numbers  that  a  new 
room  was  built  for  the  small  children.  The  first  adobe  house 
on  the  reservation  was  put  up  in  1900,  replacing  a  straw  hut. 
Others  succeeded  until  the  wickiups  had  disappeared,  and  a 
village  of  neat  and  comfortable  homes  sprang  up,  each  with  its 
surrounding  farm  or  garden.  The  men  had  learned  to  till  their 
land  and  plant  crops.  When  these,  as  sometimes  happened,  were 
washed  out  by  heavy  rains,  the  patient  toilers,  without  a  murmur 
planted  again  and  waited  for  new  results.  The  women  kept  their 
houses  in  order,  made  their  clothing,  and  had  learned  to  mold 
pottery  and  weave  baskets.  Their  first  attempts  at  these  dis¬ 
tinctively  Indian  arts  were  crude;  but  aided  by  the  Sisters  and 
their  own  native  instinct,  they  became  experts,  using  for  the 
pottery  the  red  and  white  clay  of  the  region,  which  they  burned 
over  a  fire  of  cactus  wood  and  painted  with  juice  of  the  mesquite; 
and  for  the  basketry,  the  pliable  stems  of  the  yucca,  bear  grass, 
and  the  black  leaves  of  the  devil’s  claw,  a  plant  indigenous  to 
southern  Arizona.  The  peculiar  mysticism  of  the  race  is  ap¬ 
parent  during  the  process  of  weaving.  To  the  low  and  rhythmic 
crooning  of  Indian  melodies,  the  women  work  into  their  baskets 
unique  designs  of  symbolic  meaning,  expressive  in  many  instances 
of  the  wild  yearning  that  had  filled  their  hearts  for  a  knowledge 
of  the  better  things  so  long  denied  them. 

All  the  villagers  looked  on  the  Sisters  as  their  guides  and 
arbiters,  referring  to  them  various  difficulties,  and  even  family 
disputes.  Men  and  women  came  seeking  instruction,  and  after 
weary  hours  spent  in  the  class  rooms  with  the  children,  the 
Sisters  gave  their  evenings  to  the  parents  preparing  these  for 
the  sacraments.  On  account  of  the  small  number  of  priests  in 


INDIAN  MISSIONS 


his  diocese,  the  Bishop  was  not  always  able  to  give  a  resident 
chaplain  to  San  Xavier.  In  consequence,  the  Sisters  were 
obliged  to  baptize  many  who  were  at  the  point  of  death,  some¬ 
times  going  great  distances  to  reach  them,  and  risking  their  own 
lives  in  crossing  swollen  streams.  On  one  occasion  a  dying 
woman  who  had  begged  for  baptism  was  carried  by  her  com¬ 
panions  to  the  convent,  where  she  breathed  her  last  before  the 
brief  ceremony  performed  by  Sister  Aquina  was  concluded. 

In  1906,  extensive  repairs  were  made  on  the  Mission  buildings, 
the  men  contributing  out  of  their  small  earnings  after  a  season 
of  bad  crops  a  sufficient  sum  to  floor  the  church,  in  which  until 
then  they  were  accustomed  to  kneel  or  sit  on  the  bare  ground. 
Many  improvements  made  in  the  school  modernized  the  ancient 
cloisters  without  destroying  the  Mission  architecture.  A  com¬ 
bination  dining  and  entertainment  hall  provided  a  place  for  the 
annual  closing  exercises  given  by  the  children  to  their  parents, 
the  agent,  and  the  Bishop.  A  grotto  of  Lourdes,  excavated  in 
1908  in  the  side  of  Holy  Cross  Mountain  east  of  the  Mission, 
and  provided  by  Bishop  Granjon  with  an  imported  statue,  life- 
size  and  of  fine  workmanship,  became  a  scene  of  yearly  pil¬ 
grimage,  where  hundreds  of  devout  worshippers  gather  to  honor 
the  Virgin  Mother  and  obtain  the  favor  of  her  who,  under 
another  title,  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  showed  by  a  shower  of 
roses  her  love  for  a  simple  race.  At  this  shrine,  in  May  and 
October,  the  Indians  of  the  reservation  join  with  the  children 
in  processions,  the  recitation  of  the  Rosary  and  the  singing  of 
hymns. 

An  annual  event  of  exceptional  solemnity,  and  one  on  which 
the  native  population  makes  publicly  a  touching  Profession  of 
Faith,  is  the  feast  of  the  Mission’s  patron,  St.  Francis  Xavier. 
The  three  days’  celebration,  civic  and  religious  in  character,  is 
directed  by  twelve  chiefs  chosen  from  the  tribe  each  year  as 
part  of  an  ecclesiastical  function  presided  over  by  the  Bishop, 
who  is  loved  as  a  father,  and  who  pontificates  at  Mass  and 
Benediction  of  the  third  day,  addressing  the  assembly  in  English 


276  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

and  Spanish,  sometimes  in  Papago.  After  the  Rosary,  said  in 
the  musical  Spanish  that  is  the  Mission  Indian’s  second  mother 
tongue,  and  the  chanting  of  the  Litany  to  an  ancient  melody,  the 
twelve  chiefs,  kneeling  before  the  shrine  of  St.  Francis  and  with 
hands  reverently  touching  his  banner,  promise  fidelity  to  the 
trust  imposed  on  them  for  the  following  year  ;  and  one  of  their 
number,  chosen  to  be  their  head,  receives  from  the  Bishop  the 
symbol  of  authority,  a  curiously  wrought  sceptre  of  gold  and 
ebony.  An  observer  of  this  yearly  demonstration,  writes : 

To  one  witnessing  this  celebration  for  the  first  time,  it  seems  like 
a  vision  of  centuries  past.  However,  it  is  but  one  of  many  lessons 
that  these  people  have  learned  from  their  good  missionaries ;  a  les¬ 
son  that  has  been  instrumental  in  keeping  them  close  to  God  and 
their  Catholic  religion.7 

In  1913,  the  Franciscan  Fathers,  after  a  lapse  of  nearly  one 
hundred  years,  were  again  given  charge  of  the  spiritual  affairs 
of  the  Mission.  They  were  instrumental  in  erecting  a  large  hall 
for  the  use  of  the  young  men,  clubs  and  social  recreations  having 
become  a  feature  of  life  in  the  reservation.8  The  patriotism  of 
the  Papagos  during  the  World  War  was  a  subject  of  comment,  the 
women,  under  the  direction  of  the  Sisters,  making  valuable  con¬ 
tributions  to  the  Red  Cross,  and  the  men  investing  their  savings 
in  Liberty  Bonds.  Many  of  San  Xaviers  boys,  though  not 
subject  to  draft,  enlisted  for  service,  among  them  Sergeant 
Charles  Solis,  whose  death  at  Camp  Kearney  was  one  of  the 
earliest  fatalities  in  the  ranks,  and  who  was  buried  at  the  Mission 
with  military  honors. 

The  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  arrival  in  Arizona  of  the  Sis¬ 
ters  of  Saint  Joseph  was  observed  at  Tucson  as  a  civic  holiday, 
proclaimed  as  such  by  the  Mayor,  and  participated  in  by  the 
municipal  authorities.  The  Tucson  Sentinal  of  May  23,  1920, 

7  Nicholas  Perschl,  0.  f.  m.  in  The  Indian  Sentinel,  p.  27.  July  1917. 

8  Prominent  among  these  are  the  San  Xavier  Club,  a  Mission  Band,  and  a 
Farmers’  Association. 


INDIAN  MISSIONS 


277 


referring  to  the  Americanization  of  the  Papagos,  and  attributing 
it  wholly  to  the  Sisters,  writes : 

Fully  as  remarkable  and  worthy  of  pen  and  paint  as  San  Xavier 
itself,  is  the  civilization  of  the  Papago.  The  golden  anniversary 
of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  can  have  no  brighter  or  more  honorable 
feature  than  the  stupendous  work  against  superhuman  odds  out 
at  San  Xavier.  There  is  perhaps  no  record  of  like  achievement 
with  like  instruments  on  like  objects  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States. 

While  the  Sisters  were  thus  engaged  among  the  Papagos, 
reviving  the  former  usefulness  of  San  Xavier,  fittingly  named 
by  tourists  the  “White  Dove  of  the  Desert,”  similar  scenes  were 
being  enacted  north  of  them  by  other  members  of  the  Congrega¬ 
tion.  In  1886,  Reverend  Mother  Agatha  was  requested  by 
Reverend  J.  A.  Stephan,  acting  for  the  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs  at  Washington,  to  send  a  community  of  her  Sisters  to 
Fort  Yuma  on  the  Indian  reservation  of  that  name  in  California. 
Fort  Yuma  was  located  on  high  ground  along  the  Colorado  River 
near  its  junction  with  the  Gila,  nine  miles  from  the  Mexican 
border.  The  reservation  of  forty-five  thousand  acres  stretched 
along  the  Colorado  for  twenty  miles,  and  with  the  exception  of 
a  narrow  strip  near  the  river  bank  on  which  the  natives  grew 
their  corn,  wheat  and  melons,  was  desert  land.  It  was  occupied 
by  the  Yuma  Indians,  a  tribe  numbering  between  eight  hundred 
and  a  thousand  souls. 

The  Yumas  were  pagans.  More  than  a  hundred  years  had 
passed  since  a  vain  attempt  had  been  made  to  Christianize  the 
natives  of  this  region  by  Father  Garces,  who,  from  his  mission 
at  San  Xavier  del  Bac,  made  occasional  entries  into  the  country 
of  the  Yumas.  According  to  Reverend  Zephyrin  Engelhardt, 
the  Franciscan  historian  of  the  missions,  Father  Garces  on  these 
occasions  illustrated  his  instructions  by  a  large  canvas  having 
on  one  side  a  picture  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  on  the  other  one 
of  a  lost  soul  in  hell.  “The  Yumas  were  highly  pleased,"  he 


278  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

relates,  “with  the  picture  of  the  ‘beautiful  lady,’  but  the  sight 
of  the  ‘lost  soul’  they  abhorred.  They  were  not  such  fools,  they 
declared,  as  not  to  know  that  the  good  people  were  above  and  the 
bad  ones  far  down  under  the  ground.”  9  They  welcomed  the 
presence  of  a  priest  among  them;  and  on  their  petition,  two 
missions  were  established,  one  of  which  was  near  the  site  of 
the  present  Fort,  and  dedicated  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  under  the 
title  of  La  Purissima  Concepcion. 

Friendly  and  docile  at  first,  the  Yumas  were  rendered  des¬ 
perate  by  the  interference  of  the  Mexican  Commandante,  De 
Croix,  who  appropriated  the  best  of  their  lands  for  his  soldiers 
and  other  white  settlers.  They  rose  in  rebellion  on  July  17, 
1781,  set  fire  to  the  missions,  murdered  the  soldiers  and  mission¬ 
aries  including  Father  Garces,  and  carried  women  and  children 
into  captivity.  They  then  reverted  as  a  tribe  to  their  former 
ignorance  and  superstition,  very  few  retaining  any  memory  of 
the  missionaries;  but  a  strange  tradition  lingered  among  them 
that  a  band  of  white-robed  figures  could  be  seen  walking  among 
the  ruins  of  La  Purissima  Concepcion ,  bearing  crosses  and  chant¬ 
ing  hymns.  The  Yumas  resisted  any  further  attempts  to 
Christianize  or  educate  them,  and  maintained  an  unfriendly  if 
not  a  hostile  attitude,  until,  in  1852  the  United  States  Govern¬ 
ment  erected  the  Fort,  and  placed  troops  there  mainly  as  a  protec¬ 
tion  against  the  Apaches.  In  1884,  the  control  of  the  Fort  was 
transferred  from  the  War  Department  to  the  Department  of  the 
Interior;  and  an  executive  order  of  January  9,  1884,  established 
the  Yuma  Reservation.10  For  two  years  after  the  withdrawal  of 
the  soldiers  in  1884,  a  school  was  maintained  at  the  Fort  by  a 
Presbyterian  teacher  and  her  assistant;  but  it  had  not  succeeded, 
being  looked  upon  with  disfavor  by  the  chief  of  the  tribe.  It 
was  on  this  account  that  the  Indian  Commissioner,  John  H. 
Oberly,  appealed  to  Father  Stephan  for  Catholic  teachers. 

9  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California,  vol.  II,  p.  192.  San  Francisco, 
1912. 

10  Executive  Document  No.  68,  p.  6.  52c!  Congress,  2d  Session,  1894. 


INDIAN  MISSIONS 


279 


The  Yumas  were  still  pagans  in  1886.  They  believed  in  two 
deities,  a  good  one,  who  dwelt  on  grassy  plains  somewhere  to 
the  south  and  west  of  their  own  arid  lands ;  and  a  bad  one  in  the 
center  of  the  earth,  whose  restless  turnings  on  his  subterranean 
bed  caused  the  earthquakes  that  sometimes  destroyed  their  small 
mud  houses.  They  burned  their  dead  on  funeral  pyres  with 
weird  rites,  and  then  destroyed  the  huts  of  the  deceased  lest  the 
spirits  of  the  departed  should  return.  The  children  ran  about 
without  clothing  of  any  kind;  the  women  wore  a  single  short 
garment  woven  of  the  bark  of  trees;  and  the  braves,  except  when 
they  donned  some  sort  of  civil  apparel  to  appear  in  the  city, 
made  themselves  hideous  with  paint,  laying  on  first  a  coat  of  dark 
scarlet,  over  which  they  traced  parallel  lines  of  black,  blue,  or 
green,  and  set  off  the  whole  with  an  abundance  of  white  paint 
in  round  dots  or  in  curious  filigree  patterns.  All  wore  their 
hair  long  and  believed  that  if  it  were  cut,  they  would  be  deprived 
of  their  strength  and  of  their  speed  as  runners. 

Reverend  Mother,  knowing  something  of  these  conditions 
from  her  frequent  visits  to  the  West,  refused  the  first  requests 
that  were  made  to  her  in  behalf  of  the  Yumas.  She  feared  that 
efforts  to  bring  them  to  a  knowledge  of  God  would  prove  fruit¬ 
less,  especially  since  the  school  was  to  be  directly  under  govern¬ 
ment  auspices.  Pressure  was  brought  to  bear  on  the  matter  by 
members  of  the  Catholic  Indian  Bureau.  These  represented  the 
favorable  attitude  of  the  Government  towards  religious  instruc¬ 
tion  as  just  expressed  in  President  Cleveland’s  message  to  Con¬ 
gress,  wherein  he  drew  attention  to  “the  self-sacrificing  and  pious 
men  and  women  who  have  aided  in  the  good  work  by  their 
independent  endeavor,”  and  recommended  that  “their  valuable 
services  be  fully  acknowledged  by  all  who  under  the  law  are 
charged  with  the  control  and  management  of  our  Indian 
wards.”  n'  Assured  that  the  Sisters  would  be  in  no  way  ham- 

11  First  Annual  Message  of  Grover  Cleveland ,  Dec.  8,  1885,  in  Messages 
and  Papers  of  the  Presidents ,  1903,  vol.  VIII,  p.  356.  These  sentiments  were 
in  accordance  also  with  the  “Peace  Policy”  inaugurated  by  General  Grant 
in  1870. 


280  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 


pered  by  the  Administration,  Reverend  Mother  delegated  six 
'teachers  for  this  mission,  five  of  whom  remained  in  Tucson 
while  the  superior,  Sister  Ambrosia  O’Neill,  accompanied  by 
Mother  Julia  Littenecker,  then  on  a  visit  to  the  western  houses, 
went  on  March  16  to  Yuma  City,  Arizona,  opposite  the  Fort, 
there  to  await  the  formal  transfer  of  the  school  from  the  Colo¬ 
rado  Agency.  This  took  place,  after  many  preliminaries  and 
much  signing  of  bonds,  on  April  15. 

The  two  Sisters  profited  by  the  interval  to  study  their  sur¬ 
roundings  and  to  become  acquainted  with  the  tribe  and  its 
venerable  chief,  Pasqual.  They  were  residing,  during  a  tem¬ 
porary  closing  of  the  convent  school  in  Yuma,  with  a  good 
Catholic  widow,  Pieta  Redondo,  and  her  interesting  family. 
This  excellent  woman  knew  and  understood  the  Yumas  well,  and 
testified  to  their  character  for  honesty.  They  had  been  taught 
by  their  chief  to  hate  drinking,  lying  and  stealing;  and  any  one 
found  guilty  of  these  vices  received  chastisement  by  flogging 
at  the  hands  of  Pasqual  himself.  The  introductory  meeting  of 
the  Sisters  with  this  white-haired  warrior,  an  imposing  figure 
of  giant  stature,  straight  and  lithe  in  spite  of  his  great  age, 
took  place  on  March  18,  the  occasion  being  their  initial  visit  to 
the  Fort.  Seeing  them  coming,  he  advanced  to  meet  them,  kiss¬ 
ing  their  hands  and  showing  them  every  mark  of  respect.  He 
then  kept  aloof  for  weeks  studying  them  from  a  distance.  The 
friendly  natives  crossed  the  river  almost  daily  to  assure  the 
Sisters  of  their  own  and  their  chief’s  good-will.  They  brought 
frequent  requests  from  the  latter  for  an  interview,  which  finally 
took  place  a  month  after  their  first  meeting.  Mother  Julia  wrote 
to  Reverend  Mother  of  this  event  on  April  15  : 

We  met  Pasqual  at  the  Fort  this  morning.  As  soon  as  he  saw 
us,  he  sent  a  messenger  for  his  interpreter,  who  was  on  the 
spot  in  a  little  while.  We  had  then  a  long  conversation  with  him 
in  which  he  told  us  all  the  troubles  and  grievances  of  his  people. 
He  wanted  to  know  who  sent  us,  and  what  we  came  to  do  for  them. 
After  we  told  him,  he  said  that  though  an  old  man  (he  is  over  a 


INDIAN  MISSIONS 


281 


hundred  years  old),  he  would  do  his  part  towards  us;  that  if  we 
came  to  do  tfiem  good,  he  would  be  good  to  us,  and  would  also  teach 
his  people  to  be  good  to  us ;  that  hitherto  many  fine  promises  had 
been  made  to  him  and  his  people  by  persons  sent  by  the  Government, 
but  these  were  not  carried  out,  and  now  he  would  like  to  see  proofs, 
he  has  been  so  often  disappointed. 

The  old  man  was  distrustful  of  the  whites,  and  refused  to 
ask  anything  from  the  “Great  Father”  at  Washington,  but  would 
be  happy  if  the  Sisters  could  obtain  help  for  his  people,  who,  in 
seasons  of  drought  or  when  the  inundations  of  the  Colorado 
washed  out  their  crops,  were  driven  to  the  verge  of  starvation. 
The  desert  provided  no  game,  and  their  only  sustenance  came 
from  the  strip  of  fertile  land  along  the  river  banks. 

The  meeting  over,  the  chief  sought  out  a  prominent  Mexican 
living  at  Yuma  and  asked  the  latter’s  opinion  of  the  Sisters. 
When  satisfied  that  their  intentions  were  of  the  best,  and  that 
they  meant  to  do  great  good  to  his  children,  he  sent  runners  to 
all  parts  of  the  reservation,  summoning  the  tribesmen  to  a  great 
council,  which  did  not  take  place  until  two  weeks  later.  In  the 
meantime,  the  remaining  Sisters  arrived  from  Tucson  under  the 
escort  of  Father  Juan  Chaucot,  and  on  May  1,  all  took  up  their 
residence  at  the  Fort. 

This  was  well  constructed,  and  consisted  of  a  dozen  or  more 
large,  one-story  buildings  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  parallel¬ 
ogram  around  an  open  court,  in  the  center  of  which  stood  a  lofty 
flagpole.  Here  the  Indian  councils  were  accustomed  to  take 
place.  There  were,  besides,  the  captain’s  house  of  eight  rooms, 
a  laundry,  a  bakery,  a  workshop  and  stables.  The  whole  com¬ 
manded  a  magnificent  view  of  the  Colorado  and  Gila  rivers  at 
their  junction,  of  Yuma  City  and  of  the  surrounding  valley, 
with  the  mountains  in  the  distance.  The  best  preserved  of  the 
one-story  buildings  was  selected  as  a  chapel ;  the  others  were  for 
class  rooms  and  apartments  for  the  children  from  the  reservation, 
who  were  kept  as  boarders.  The  captain’s  house,  apart  from 
the  rest,  made  an  excellent  convent,  and  the  Sisters  called  it 


282  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

El  Monte  de  Buena  Esperanza,  the  Mount  of  Good  Hope.  Sister 
Ambrosia  was  dignified  by  the  Yumas  with  the  title  of  El  Capitan. 
Dusky  young  braves  vied  with  each  other  in  clearing  out  the 
accumulated  rubbish  of  two  years,  and  making  the  rooms  habit¬ 
able.  Until  the  arrival  of  government  supplies,  which  were 
furnished  generously,  the  Sisters  contented  themselves  with  a 
few  chairs  for  furniture,  a  table,  a  rickety  stove,  and  borrowed 
cots  without  mattresses  or  pillows. 

The  great  council  took  place  on  May  3  in  the  courtyard  of 
the  Fort,  where  Indians,  assembled  from  all  quarters,  gathered 
around  the  flag-pole  and  were  addressed  by  their  chief  on  the 
subject  of  the  school.  They  were  exhorted  to  send  their  children, 
especially  the  young  ones,  who  could  learn  readily  “while  their 
heads  were  tender.”  The  Sisters  were  present  by  request  of 
the  chief,  and  his  words  were  interpreted  for  them  by  a  Mohave 
who  could  speak  English  and  Spanish.  The  School  was  organ¬ 
ized  after  a  first  Mass  said  in  the  chapel  on  May  5.  Ten  children 
were  registered  on  that  day  as  boarders,  and  before  June  the 
number  had  increased  to  sixty.  On  May  13,  Mother  Julia 
wrote : 

It  is  quite  amusing  to  see  old  men,  and  squaws  with  their  papooses 
running  towards  the  school  when  the  bell  is  rung  for  class.  They 
are  all  anxious  to  see  the  little  ones  in  rank  marching  into  the  school 
room.  After  all  the  children  are  in,  the  grown  Indians,  fathers, 
mothers  and  relatives,  enter,  too,  and  sit  down  on  the  floor  in  the 
back  of  the  room,  as  still  as  mice,  watching  everything  going  on. 
For  the  present  we  have  to  suffer  it  in  order  to  gain  them.  We 
are  glad  to  have  them  present  for  Catechism.  The  Interpreter  is 
always  present  to  translate  it  into  the  Yuma  vernacular ;  thus  some 
of  the  older  ones  are  instructed  with  the  children. 

At  the  time  this  letter  was  written,  eight  days  after  the  open¬ 
ing  of  school,  the  little  Yumas  were  able  to  make  the  Sign  of 
the  Cross  and  say  the  Lord’s  Prayer  in  English,  and  could  sing 
the  hymn  “O  Sanctissima”  with  the  Sisters.  The  class  hours 


INDIAN  MISSIONS 


283 

were  from  nine  o’clock  in  the  morning  until  half  past  three  in 
the  afternoon.  The  ordinary  branches  were  introduced  grad¬ 
ually,  with  sewing  and  domestic  work  for  the  girls  under  the 
tutelage  of  the  Sisters,  and  manual  labor  for  the  boys,  taught 
them  by  an  industrial  teacher  sent  from  Washington.  Police¬ 
men,  matrons,  and  numerous  other  officials  were  appointed  from 
the  tribe.  The  children  learned  English  readily,  and  were  fond 
of  singing;  but  they  gave  up  their  wild,  free  life  reluctantly. 
On  one  occasion,  all  were  found  to  have  disappeared  from  the 
Fort,  leaving  the  class  rooms  empty.  Hours  of  search  revealed 
the  boys  enjoying  a  plunge  in  the  Colorado  river;  the  girls  had 
fled  to  their  huts  on  the  reservation,  and  were  brought  back  in 
a  body  by  the  chief. 

As  was  expected,  the  placing  of  Sisters  in  charge  of  the  school 
caused  much  comment,  especially  on  the  part  of  some  non- 
Catholics  who  were  bitterly  opposed  to  the  plan,  and  who  in  the 
beginning  looked  upon  it  as  an  experiment,  doomed  to  certain 
failure.  The  first  public  expression  of  hostile  sentiment  was  an 
abusive  letter  published  by  the  San  Francisco  Argonaut  of 
November  15,  1886,  calling  attention  to  the  existence  of 

“a  governmental  nunnery  at  Fort  Yuma.”  The  anonymous 
writer  declared  that  the  state  of  affairs  “is  galling  in  the  extreme, 
and  silent  mutterings  may  develop  into  public  indignation.” 
Public  indignation  was  indeed  aroused,  but  it  was  directed  against 
the  writer  and  the  Argonaut.  Both  were  brought  to  task  by 
their  critics.  The  prominence  thus  given  the  school  won  it 
many  defenders,  and  government  inspectors  gave  it  their  hearty 
approval. 

None  were  louder  in  its  praise  than  Chief  Pasqual,  who, 
leaving  his  hut  on  the  reservation,  made  his  home  in  one  of 
the  buildings  at  the  Fort,  and  observed  closely  all  that  was  going 
on.  To  some  of  the  officials,  he  expressed  himself  as  satisfied 
that  his  children  were  well  treated.  If  they  were  not,  he  said, 
he  would  order  them  all  home.  At  the  close  of  the  term,  on 
June  30,  assembling  the  pupils  before  they  separated,  he  warned 


284  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

them  to  return  in  September;  and  during  the  vacation,  he  made 
a  four  days’  journey  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  the  Diegueno 
chiefs,  thirty  miles  distant,  and  entreating  them  also  to  send 
their  children  to  the  school. 

Ninety  boys  and  girls  were  registered  as  boarders  in  the  fall; 
and  in  1887,  the  Government  sent  fifty  Papago  girls  from 
Arizona.  In  1891,  the  total  number  had  risen  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty-two.  Many  improvements  were  made  on  the  reserva¬ 
tion,  among  them  a  steam  pump  for  irrigation.  The  boys  were 
becoming  skilled  in  agriculture;  the  girls  in  the  use  of  the  needle 
and  sewing  machine.  They  cut  and  made  their  own  dresses, 
as  well  as  the  garments  which  their  mothers  and  small  brothers 

and  sisters  at  home  had  been  with  much  difficultv  induced  to 

* 

adopt. 

The  first  baptism  among  the  Yumas  occurred  on  May  15, 
1886.  It  was  that  of  a  boy  of  twelve  years,  a  relative  of  the 
chief,  who  was  brought  to  the  hut  of  the  latter  in  a  dying  con¬ 
dition.  The  old  man  called  on  the  Sisters,  and  asked  if  the 
“Sister  Doctor,”  Sister  Alphonsus  Lamb,  could  not  do  some¬ 
thing  for  the  little  sufferer.  It  was  too  late,  however,  for  earthly 
remedies;  and,  with  Pasqual’s  permission,  the  child  was  baptized 
and  given  the  Christian  name  of  John.  Pasqual’s  own  conver¬ 
sion  was  one  of  ninety-six  which  occurred  the  following  year. 
He  had  early  expressed  his  intention  of  becoming  a  Christian, 
but  desired  to  be  well  instructed.  Mother  Julia,  he  said,  was 
the  first  who  had  ever  told  him  any  thing  about  God,  and  for 
this  he  “was  grateful  in  his  heart.”  He  had  grown  very  feeble 
in  the  spring  of  1887;  and  the  Sisters,  knowing  that  he  could  not 
live  much  longer,  asked  if  he  did  not  wish  to  be  baptized.  “Do 
you  think  it  would  be  good  for  me?”  he  asked  of  Sister  Ambro¬ 
sia  ;  and  upon  being  told  that  it  would  be  very  good,  he  answered 
decisively,  “Then  I  will  be  baptized.”  On  May  1,  Father 
Chaucot,  the  beloved  Padre  Juan  of  the  Yumas,  poured  the 
waters  of  salvation  over  the  head  of  the  centenarian  chief,  and 
called  him  Philip  after  the  patron  of  the  day. 


INDIAN  MISSIONS 


285 

A  dramatic  scene  followed,  when  the  ancients  of  the  tribe, 
after  an  angry  council,  reproached  their  dying  chief  for  desert¬ 
ing  the  gods  of  his  ancestors  at  the  bidding  of  the  Sisters.  With¬ 
out  a  word  to  them,  Pasqual  sent  his  interpreter  for  the  Sisters, 
and  in  the  presence  of  all,  declared  in  a  loud,  firm  voice,  that  he 
had  become  a  Christian  of  his  own  free  will,  because  he  thought 
that  it  was  good  to  do  so.  His  death  occurred  on  May  9,  and  he 
was  buried  with  the  usual  pagan  rites.  The  Yumas  were  event¬ 
ually  induced  to  give  up  the  practice  of  burning  their  dead, 
especially  those  who  had  been  baptized ;  but  they  could  not  lay 
aside  the  time-honored  custom  in  the  case  of  their  great  chieftain. 
He  was  arrayed  as  a  warrior  in  showy  apparel,  the  insignia 
of  his  office — a  green  silk  scarf  adorned  with  a  rosette — wrapped 
about  his  head.  His  bow  and  arrow  with  other  war  trophies 
were  laid  beside  the  body,  and  the  whole  burned  amid  great  cries 
and  lamentations.  Two  of  his  favorite  horses  were  decked  out 
in  gaudy  trappings,  and  after  being  ridden  thrice  around  the  pyre, 
were  killed  and  buried  beside  it. 

The  example  of  the  chief  in  embracing  Christianity  was  con¬ 
tagious.  In  1888,  two  hundred  and  seventeen  children  and 
adults  were  baptized;  in  1889,  three  hundred  and  one;  and  in 
1890,  two  hundred  and  twenty-five.  In  the  same  year,  1890, 
one  hundred  and  ten  children  made  their  first  Communion  and 
were  confirmed  by  Right  Reverend  Francis  Mora  of  Los  Angeles, 
assisted  by  Father  Chaucot,  and  Father  William  Demflin,  a 
Dominican  missionary  widely  known  among  the  western  tribes 
as  Padre  Guillermo.  The  latter  had  prepared  the  neophytes  for 
the  sacraments.  The  parents  of  the  children  and  many  non- 
Catholics  from  Yuma  crowded  into  the  small  chapel  to  witness 
the  impressive  ceremony,  and  to  hear  the  Bishop’s  address.  The 
girls  wore  white,  with  white  veils;  and  all  sang  feelingly  to  an 
organ  accompaniment  the  Communion  hymn,  the  Veni  Creator 
and  the  English  Te  Deum. 

The  difficulties  which  the  Sisters  experienced  in  bringing 
about  these  happy  results,  and  the  annoyances  to  which  they 


286  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

were  subjected,  sometimes  by  officials  and  at  other  times  by 
unfriendly  members  of  the  tribe,  cannot  be  over  estimated.  A 
large  number  of  the  Yumas  remained  pagan;  and  to  this  pagan 
class  belonged  Pasqual’s  successor,  Chief  Miguel.  The  latter  was 
unpopular  with  the  best  of  his  tribesmen,  and  numerous  mis¬ 
demeanors  of  a  serious  nature  on  his  part  increased  their  dis¬ 
satisfaction.  He  was  deposed  in  May,  1893,  and  another  chosen 
in  his  stead.  He  became  the  leader  of  a  faction,  and  induced 
his  followers  to  keep  their  children  away  from  school.  In  this 
he  was  upheld  by  members  of  a  denominational  church  in  Los 
Angeles,  who  sent  him  a  token  of  respect  for  the  stand  which 
he  was  taking  against  the  Sisters. 

Emboldened  by  the  support  which  he  received,  he  secretly 
planned  the  death  of  El  C  a  pit  an ,  whose  influence,  he  thought, 
was  responsible  for  his  deposition.  The  attack  was  set  for  the 
night  of  October  27,  1893.  The  unusual  activity  of  the  pagan 
group,  “Bad  Indians”  they  were  called,  aroused  the  suspicions 
of  Sister  Ambrosia,  who  with  one  Sister — the  others  were  dis¬ 
tributed  by  twos  in  the  different  buildings  with  the  children — 
spent  an  agonizing  night  listening  to  the  death  songs  of  those 
who  were  preparing  the  pyre.  Time  and  again  as  the  hours 
wore  on,  the  would-be  assassins  approached  the  convent;  and 
then  as  if  seized  by  an  irresistible  impulse,  turned  and  fled.  At 
an  early  hour  the  following  morning  a  faithful  Yuma  rushed 
in  with  the  warning  to  Sister  Ambrosia  to  leave  the  house  at  once 
and  seek  refuge  below  the  hill.  She  had  scarcely  reached  her 
hiding  place,  when  the  convent  was  filled  with  a  furious  mob 
of  pagan  Indians,  who,  finding  instead  of  El  Capitan  a  hastily 
summoned  guard,  fell  to  fighting  the  latter  until  they,  themselves, 
were  overpowered.  Miguel,  with  eight  of  his  followers,  was 
brought  to  trial,  and  all  were  given  prison  sentences  to  be  served 
out  in  the  penitentiary  at  Los  Angeles. 

When  his  evil  influence  was  removed,  tranquility  again  reigned 
on  the  reservation;  and  in  the  following  year,  1894,  the  tribe 
showed  its  gratitude  to  the  Sisters  and  its  indorsement  of  their 


INDIAN  MISSIONS 


287 

work  in  a  very  effective  manner.  A  commission  12  was  appointed 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  13  to  negotiate  with  the  Yumas 
for  the  “cession  to  the  United  States  of  such  portions  of  their 
reservation  as  they  might  be  willing  to  cede.”  14  this  land  to  be 
sold  and  the  proceeds  used  for  improving  the  remainder  by 
building  levees  and  irrigating  ditches,  and  for  the  general  benefit 
of  the  Yumas.  The  latter  demanded  as  a  sole  condition  of  their 
considering  the  cession,  that  the  Sisters  be  left  in  possession  of 
the  school,  and  be  allowed  in  addition  a  half-section  of  land  for 
farming  purposes,15  nor  would  they  affix  a  single  signature 
to  the  agreement  drawn  up  by  the  commission  until  they  were 
assured  that  their  demand  would  be  complied  with.  Their  wishes 
were  respected,  and  embodied  in  Article  VIII  of  the  agreement, 
which  was  then  signed  by  two  hundred  and  three  adult  Indians.16 
There  were  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  children  in  school  at 
the  time,  and  this  remained  the  average  number  during  the  suc¬ 
ceeding  six  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  Reverend 
Mother  Agatha  withdrew  the  Sisters  permanently  from  Fort 
Yuma. 

This  decision  on  her  part  came  about  as  an  indirect  result 
of  the  government  policy  adopted  in  1895  for  the  elimination  of 
contract  schools.17  Congress  began  in  that  year  a  gradual  with¬ 
drawal  of  the  appropriations  made  to  these  institutions,  which, 
at  the  end  of  the  year  1900,  had  ceased  to  exist  as  such.13  Fort 
Yuma,  being  under  government  control,  was  not  affected  by  the 
new  legislation;  but  seemingly  as  part  of  the  general  movement 

12  Washington  J.  Houston,  Peter  R.  Brady  and  John  A.  Gorman. 

13  Hoke  Smith  of  Georgia. 

14  Executive  Document  68,  p.  2. 

15  Ibid.,  pp.  8-1 1. 

16  Ibid.,  p.  29. 

17  Schools  conducted  by  religious  organizations  and  receiving  by  agreement 
with  the  Department  of  the  Interior  a  fixed  per  capita  sum  for  supporting 
and  educating  Indian  pupils,  cf.  Speech  of  Hon.  J.  J.  Fitzgerald  of  New 
York  in  Congress  Feb.  2  and  3,  1900,  p.  7. 

18  Ibid.,  May  24,  1900.  Cf.  also,  " Religious  Garb  and  Insignia  in  Govern¬ 
ment  Schools .”  wm.  h.  ketcham,  1912.  (Pamphlet.) 


288  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 


involving  schools  under  religious  auspices,  the  Commissioner 
of  Indian  affairs  appointed  over  the  Sisters  a  lay  superintendent, 
rejecting  a  Catholic  recommended  for  the  purpose  by  the  Catholic 
Indian  Bureau,  and  appointing  a  Protestant,  whose  intolerance 
was  soon  shown  in  matters  so  vital  to  Catholic  children  as  their 
attendance  at  Mass.  In  consequence,  the  Sisters,  in  obedience 
to  Reverend  Mother’s  directions,  tendered  their  resignations  at 
the  close  of  the  spring  term  in  1900,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
superintendent,  but  to  the  lingering  grief  of  the  grateful  Yumas. 
The  statistics  of  the  mission  at  that  time  showed  a  total  of  one 
thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy-one  baptisms,  two  hundred 
and  thirty-three  Indians  confirmed,  and  forty-five  Christian 
marriages  performed  among  them  with  nuptial  Mass. 

At  the  time  that  the  Sisters  were  withdrawn  from  Yuma, 
other  members  of  the  Congregation  had  been  engaged  for  nearly 
ten  years  on  the  Indian  missions  in  California.  On  November  1, 
1891,  Mass  was  celebrated  on  the  site  of  the  old  San  Diego 
Mission  in  the  center  of  Mission  Valley,  the  first  since  Father 
Serra  had  left  it  more  than  a  hundred  years  before.  The  occasion 
was  the  opening  of  St.  Anthony’s  Indian  School,  removed  to 
this  place  from  Old  Town,  where  it  had  been  established  five 
years  before  by  Father  Ubach,  and  taught  by  Sister  Hyacinthe 
Blanc  and  Sister  Teresa.  Father  Ubach,  the  Padre  Gaspara  of 
Helen  Hunt  Jackson’s  masterpiece,  Ramona ,  is  described  by  the 
gifted  author  true  to  life : 

He  had  a  nature  at  once  fiery  and  poetic.  There  were  but  three 
things  he  could  have  been,  a  soldier,  a  poet  or  a  priest.  Circum¬ 
stances  had  made  him  a  priest,  and  the  fire  and  the  poetry  which 
could  have  wielded  the  sword  or  kindled  the  verse,  had  he  found 
himself  set  to  fight  or  sing,  had  all  gathered  added  force  in  his 
priestly  vocation.  The  look  of  the  soldier  he  had  never  quite 
lost  .  .  .  and  it  was  the  sensitive  soul  of  the  poet  in  him  which  had 
made  him  withdraw  within  himself,  year  after  year,  as  he  found 
himself  comparatively  powerless  to  do  anything  for  the  hundreds 


INDIAN  MISSIONS  289 

of  Indians  that  he  fain  would  have  gathered  once  more  into  the 
keeping  of  the  Church.19 

He  had  endeavored  to  obtain  aid  from  the  Government,  even 
going  in  person  to  Washington  for  that  purpose;  and  had  finally 
commenced  his  small  school  in  cramped  and  narrow  quarters, 
giving  to  it  what  support  he  could.  Obtaining  at  length  a  small 
appropriation,  to  which  was  later  added  some  assistance  from  the 
Catholic  Indian  Bureau,  he  erected  in  1891  two  large  frame 
buildings,  one  for  boys  and  one  for  girls,  on  either  side  of  the 
old  Mission  Church,  a  portion  of  which  was  still  standing  in 
the  shade  of  giant  palms  and  fronting  an  olive  orchard  of  three 
hundred  trees  planted  by  the  Padres  a  century  before.  The 
school  was  an  industrial  one,  where  the  ordinary  branches  in¬ 
cluding  music,  were  supplemented  by  farming,  shoe  making  and 
other  useful  trades  for  boys  under  special  instructors,  and  sewing 
and  domestic  work  for  girls.  Between  ninety  and  one  hundred 
children  was  the  average  number  in  attendance.  They  were 
docile  and  gentle,  with  the  strong  simple  faith  preserved  by  their 
fathers  under  adverse  circumstances,  and  exemplified  in  their 
own  baptismal  names,  bestowed  on  them  in  all  reverence,  of 
Rosa  Mystica,  Alta  Gracia,  and  even  Jesus  and  its  soft  dimin¬ 
utive,  Jesucita. 

In  the  winter  of  1891-92,  a  severe  earthquake  shock,  the  worst 
experienced  in  California  for  years,  shook  the  frame  buildings, 
damaging  them  considerably  and  causing  terror  to  the  inmates 
of  St.  Anthony’s.  While  the  earth  tremor  was  at  its  height, 
the  Indian  children  promised  that  if  they  were  saved  through 
the  terrible  night,  they  would  build  a  shrine  to  Our  Lady  of 
Sorrows  on  the  mountain  side,  and  would  themselves  carry  the 
stones  for  that  purpose.  True  to  their  promise,  they  began  their 
task,  some  carrying  the  burden  on  their  heads,  others  on  the 
palms  of  outstretched  hands ;  and  a  path  was  worn  to  the  favored 
spot,  where  the  corner  stone  of  the  shrine  was  laid  on  June  16, 

19  H.  H.  Jackson,  Ramona,  p.  86.  Boston,  1920. 


290  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

1892.  A  visitor  to  the  mission,  seeing  the  faithful  devotees  at 
their  self-imposed  task,  and  hearing  the  circumstances,  gave 
publicity  to  the  project  through  the  pages  of  the  Ave  Maria , 
and  many,  reading  it,  desired  to  share  in  the  work.  A  statue — 
the  Pietd — an  altar,  stained  glass  windows,  a  votive  lamp,  were 
among  the  larger  gifts  received  by  the  delighted  little  builders; 
and  the  completed  shrine,  its  original  plan  somewhat  altered, 
was  dedicated  in  a  solemn  ceremony  on  the  Feast  of  the  Seven 
Dolors,  September,  1893. 

The  Mission  Indians  dwindled  to  a  small  remnant  of  their 
former  number;  but  the  school  was  kept  up  for  many  years  by 
the  Catholic  Indian  Bureau  in  deference  to  Father  Ubach,  the 
patron  and  apostle  for  forty  years  of  the  tribes  around  San 
Diego.  After  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1907,  the  children 
were  transferred  to  St.  Boniface’s  Industrial  School  at  Banning, 
California,  established  in  1890. 

In  a  beautiful  valley  between  the  San  Jacinto  and  San  Ber¬ 
nardino  mountains,  this  school  was  built  by  the  Catholic  Indian 
Bureau,  with  the  assistance  of  Mother  Katherine  Drexel;  and 
Father  Willard,  Vice-President  of  the  Bureau,  placed  in  charge. 
He  contracted  typhoid  fever  after  a  few  months’  residence  at 
Banning;  and  this  resulted  in  his  death  under  circumstances  of 
peculiar  pathos,  there  being  no  one  at  the  mission  during  his 
illness  but  the  Indian  boys.  In  the  meantime,  Reverend  Mother 
was  requested  by  Monsignor  Stephan,  and  also  by  Archbishop 
Ryan  of  Philadelphia,  to  send  Sisters  to  the  school.  Six  Sisters 
were  sent,  with  Sister  Celestia  O’Reilly  as  Superior.  Reverend 
Florian  Hahn,  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Precious  Blood,  was 
appointed  superintendent,  and  an  appropriation  secured  from 
Congress  for  the  support  of  one  hundred  children.  When  this 
appropriation  was  withdrawn  a  few  years  later,  St.  Boniface’s 
received  support  from  diocesan  collections,  and  from  the  results 
of  the  children’s  industry.  One  hundred  and  twenty  children 
were  enrolled  the  first  year,  and  others  refused  for  want  of  room. 
The  school  was  blessed  with  appropriate  ceremonies  on  January 


INDIAN  MISSIONS 


291 


6,  1891.  Another  memorable  day  that  year  was  April  22,  when 
President  Harrison,  on  a  western  tour, .  made  a  brief  visit  to 
Banning,  and  the  pupils  of  St.  Boniface’s  were  presented  to  him 
individually. 

The  curriculum  at  St.  Boniface’s  followed  the  lines  of  other 
industrial  schools,  with  horticulture  as  a  specialty  for  the  boys, 
the  vineyards  and  orchards  of  fruit  and  almonds,  with  gardens  of 
great  variety,  presenting  a  practical  held  for  their  endeavors. 
With  the  first  appearance  in  October  1895,  of  the  Mission  Indian , 
a  monthly  periodical,  printing  was  added  to  the  other  useful 
arts;  and  the  accomplishments  of  the  girls  include  the  finest  bead 
work,  and  the  making  of  Cluny  and  Torchon  laces.  Military 
drill  under  a  commissioned  officer  was  early  made  part  of  the 
daily  routine.  The  Indians’  proverbial  love  of  music  found 
expression  in  the  well  organized  Mission  Band  and  in  three 
hours’  weekly  vocal  practice  enabling  them  to  sing  High  Mass 
and  Benediction  on  Sundays  with  surprising  effect.  St.  Boni¬ 
face’s  is  now  the  only  Catholic  boarding  School  for  Indians  in 
California.  The  death  in  1916  of  Father  Hahn,  who  from  his 
headquarters  at  St.  Boniface’s  visited  and  instructed  the  Indians 
to  the  south  and  east  of  Banning,  was  a  severe  loss  which  was 
eventually  filled  by  the  Franciscan  Fathers,  coming  again  into 
their  birthright  as  the  earliest  friends  and  teachers  of  the  Mission 
Indians  in  the  state. 

These  zealous  Fathers  also  direct  the  mission  at  Komatke  on 
the  Pima  Reservation  near  Phoenix,  Arizona,  which  was  com¬ 
menced  by  them  in  1900.  When  Reverend  Mother  Agatha  was 
asked  in  March  1901  to  send  Sisters  to  St.  John’s  Mission  at 
Komatke,  she  delegated  the  Provincial  Superior,  Mother  Eliz¬ 
abeth  Parrott,  to  see  the  place  if  possible  and  report  on  condi¬ 
tions  there.  Mother  Elizabeth,  securing  at  Phoenix  a  competent 
driver,  started  with  a  companion  for  the  distant  site,  eighteen 
miles  out  on  the  desert.  The  driver,  an  old-timer  and  accus¬ 
tomed  to  the  region,  missed  a  familiar  turn  in  the  road,  and 
without  perceiving  his  mistake,  drove  on  for  hours,  until  to  his 


292  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

great  surprise  he  drew  up  again  at  Phoenix.  A  severe  sand 
storm  during  the  succeeding  days  hindered  a  second  attempt 
to  reach  the  Pima  Reservation,  and  urgent  duty  called  the 
Provincial  and  her  companion  back  to  Tucson.  These  citcum- 

v*r 

stances  were  afterwards  looked  upon  by  the  Sisters  as  due  to 
Providence  rather  than  to  chance;  for  had  the  real  situation  at 
Komatke  been  known  to  Reverend  Mother,  she  would  have 
refused  the  desired  community  of  teachers,  in  view  of  the  great 
hardships  ahead  and  the  seeming  impossibility  of  a  successful 
outcome  to  their  labors  and  sacrifices. 

Always  zealous  to  better  the  condition  of  the  Indians,  how¬ 
ever,  she  accepted  the  mission,  and  the  appointed  community, 
Sisters  Anna  de  Sales  Powers,  Mary  Joseph  Franco  and  St. 
Barbara,  arrived  at  Komatke  on  August  29.  They  had  made 
the  trip  from  Tucson  by  way  of  Phoenix,  where  they  were  the 
guests  for  three  days  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy.  From  Phoenix 
they  went  by  stage  over  desert  roads  and  under  a  tropical  sun, 
its  heat  and  glare  intensified  by  stretches  of  white  sand,  and  their 
courage  kept  up  by  the  driver’s  assurance  after  every  few  miles 
of  the  journey  that  they  were  near  its  end.  Shortly  after  mid¬ 
day,  they  reached  the  small  adobe  house  that  was  their  convent, 
built  beside  another  of  the  same  material  that  served  the  double 
purpose  of  church  and  school.  There  was  no  other  human 
habitation  in  sight,  as  the  small  huts  of  the  Indians  were  scattered 
about  the  desert  at  considerable  distances  from  the  church,  or 
were  so  low  as  to  seem  part  of  the  sandy  waste.  The  pastor 
was  absent  on  a  sick  call,  and  the  driver  of  the  stage,  after 
depositing  his  passengers,  turned  and  left  in  all  haste,  as  though, 
writes  the  chronicler  of  the  mission,  “he  were  afraid  that  we 
would  change  our  minds  about  staying  and  return  with  him.” 
There  was  no  sign  of  life  about  the  desolate  looking  place  except 
the  scorpions  running  in  and  out  among  the  trunks  and  boxes 
which  had  been  sent  on  ahead  and  were  waiting  to  be  unpacked ; 
but,  cheerless  as  the  prospect  was,  Sister  Mary  Joseph,  veteran 
Indian  missionary  who  had  spent  many  years  at  Fort  Yuma, 


INDIAN  MISSIONS 


293 

expressed  the  feelings  of  all  in  an  emphatic  exclamation : 
“Thank  God,  we  are  home!” 

On  the  Sunday  following  their  arrival,  they  made  acquaintances 
among  the  parents  of  their  future  pupils.  The  majority  of 
these  were  of  the  Pima  tribe,  but  there  were  among  them  also 
some  Papagos,  Apaches,  and  Yaquis.  All  welcomed  the  Sisters 
in  their  simple  fashion,  shaking  hands  and  offering  gifts  of 
watermelons  raised  on  their  small  rancherias.  One  hundred  and 
twenty  day  pupils  were  registered  at  the  school  on  the  following 
day,  ranging  in  age  from  six  to  eighteen  years  of  age.  The 
Pimas  were  wretchedly  poor,  depending  even  for  their  clothing 
on  contributions  from  outside  the  reservation;  and  the  ingenuity 
of  the  Sisters  was  taxed  to  keep  the  children  clean  and  properly 
dressed.  These  responded  readily,  however,  to  instruction :  and 
on  December  8,  after  much  patient  drilling  on  the  part  of  Sister 
Alary  Joseph  Franco,  sang  at  the  first  High  Alass  said  in 
Komatke,  their  sweet  young  voices  making  a  pleasing  contrast 
to  the  quavering  tones  of  the  old  women  who  had  hitherto  led 
in  the  singing  of  Spanish  hymns  and  litanies.  Their  first 
Christmas  at  the  school  was  made  happy  by  Reverend  Mother 
Agatha,  who  sent  gifts  for  all  and  a  crib,  the  only  one  which  they 
had  ever  seen,  though  the  significance  of  Christmas  was  well 
known  to  them,  and  all  came  to  early  Alass  decked  out  in  the 
fantastic  fashion  which  they  thought  suitable  to  the  occasion. 

Forty  of  the  children  were  from  other  reservations,  and  as 
they  lived  at  a  distance,  were  accommodated  during  the  first 
year  at  the  homes  of  friendly  Pimas,  in  order  to  be  near  the 
school.  The  parents  of  these  requested  that  provision  be  made 
to  keep  them  day  and  night  at  St.  John’s.  Accordingly,  in  1902, 
Father  Justin,  with  the  aid  of  two  Indian  men  from  Casa  Blanca 
— to  which  settlement,  twenty-five  miles  distant,  some  of  the 
children  belonged — erected  two  small  houses,  one  for  girls  and 
the  other  for  boys.  The  houses,  built  after  the  prevailing  mode, 
were  made  of  arrow  weed  interlaced  on  mesquite  posts,  and 
covered  with  mud,  and  served  in  turn  the  purposes  of  kitchen, 


294  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

dining  room,  recreation  halls  and  dormitories.  The  girls  pre¬ 
pared  for  themselves  and  the  boys  the  simple  meals  of  bread, 
coffee  and  beans,  which  they  cooked  over  open  wood  fires  and 
served  on  a  cloth  spread  out  on  the  floor.  At  night,  all  wrapped 
themselves  in  their  blankets  and  slept  on  the  ground. 

During  the  first  week,  St.  John’s  “boarding  school”  presented 
the  unusual  sight  of  thirty  or  more  small  Indians  scattered  about 
on  the  sand  hills  wrapped  in  shawls,  aprons  or  pieces  of  blanket, 
while  the  large  girls  helped  the  Sisters  to  wash  and  make  present¬ 
able  the  one  suit  of  clothing  which  constituted  the  outfit  of  each 
pupil.  The  first  Sunday  found  all  clean,  and  “as  happy  as  if 
clothed  in  silk.”  Trunks  and  boxes  of  needed  materials  sent 
from  Carondelet  and  other  houses  of  the  Congregation  were  used 
to  replenish  gradually  the  meagre  wardrobes;  and  the  laundry 
problem  was  eventually  solved  by  the  Franciscan  Provincial,  who 
provided  the  first  washing  machine.  Before  the  end  of  the  year 
1902,  Father  Justin,  enlisting  the  assistance  of  the  large  boys, 
began  to  build  a  new  church,  for  which  the  faithful  Pimas  made 
thirty  thousand  adobe  blocks. 

In  the  following  year,  the  neighboring  Maricopas,  having 
learned  that  there  were  Sisters  at  Komatke  who  spoke  their 
language,  abandoned  a  Protestant  Church  which  they  were 
attending,  and  came  in  to  St.  John’s.  The  confidence  of  all  in 
the  Sisters  was  exemplified  on  numerous  occasions,  when,  during 
long  absences  of  the  pastor  to  distant  parts  of  the  reservation, 
the  Indians  brought  their  dead  to  church  and  called  on  the  Su¬ 
perior,  Sister  Anna  de  Sales,  to  perform  the  funeral  ceremonies. 
She  satisfied  their  simple  faith  by  joining  with  them  in  prayers 
for  the  departed.  Mourners,  school  children  and  Sisters  then 
formed  in  procession,  and  reciting  the  Rosary,  wended  their  way 
to  the  place  of  burial,  where  the  body  was  sprinkled  with  holy 
water  and  more  prayers  said  over  the  newly  made  grave.  The 
relatives  of  the  deceased,  with  many  expressions  of  gratitude 
and  reverence,  then  departed  for  their  homes,  comforted  because 
their  dead  had  been  interred  with  Christian  rites. 


INDIAN  MISSIONS 


295 


The  aged  mother  of  the  Pima  chief  was  among  the  first  com¬ 
municants  in  May,  1905;  and  both  Pimas  and  Papagos  vied  that 
year  in  building  shrines  around  the  reservation  for  the  Corpus 
Christi  procession,  which  everywhere  among  the  Indian  tribes 
is  an  occasion  for  a  public  demonstration  of  their  faith.  In 
1908,  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  children  were  residing  per¬ 
manently  at  the  mission,  the  two  poor  shacks  of  1902  having 
given  place  to  comfortable  adobe  houses.  These  houses  in¬ 
creased  in  number  as  the  school  continued  to  grow,  two  large 
dining  halls  and  a  sanitarium,  both  electrically  lighted  and  fur¬ 
nished  with  modern  equipment,  being  the  latest  additions  to  the 
group;  and  palms  and  tropical  vegetation  altered  completely  the 
appearance  of  the  desert  mission.  Three  Franciscan  Fathers 
are  in  charge  of  St.  John’s,  assisted  by  three  Brothers  of  the 
same  Order,  nine  Sisters,  and  two  disciplinarians.  The  present 
enrollment  is  five  hundred  and  twenty-five,  and  children  are 
refused  yearly  for  want  of  room. 

The  instruction  is  largely  vocational,  including  training  in 
hospital  service  for  the  girls,  and  plumbing  and  electrical  en¬ 
gineering  for  the  boys.  Many  of  the  girls,  when  their  course 
is  completed,  remain  as  matrons,  seamstresses  and  assistants  in 
the  sanitarium ;  and  from  the  boys  are  recruited  skillful  mechanics 
and  electricians.  St.  John’s  won  notable  distinction  during 
Industrial  Week  at  the  State  capitol  in  1921,  when,  at  the  request 
of  Governor  Campbell  of  Arizona,  it  entered  into  competition 
with  the  large  schools  of  Phoenix  and  vicinity  in  an  endeavor  to 
make  known  the  educational  and  industrial  achievements  of  the 
Salt  River  Valley.  Other  schools  competing  were  the  Union 
High  School  of  Phoenix  with  fifteen  hundred  pupils,  and  the 
Phoenix  Indian  Boarding  School,  a  government  institution,  with 
eight  hundred  children.  The  silver  cup  awarded  to  the  best 
school  section  was  carried  off  by  St.  John’s,  the  exhibit  made 
by  its  pupils  showing  the  marvellous  development  of  twenty 
years. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


REVEREND  MOTHER  AGNES  GONZAGA  RYAN.  BENEVOLENT 
WORK  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  (1905-I920) 

In  the  spring  of  1905,  an  election  was  held  at  the  Mother 
House  to  fill  the  place  left  vacant  by  the  death  in  the  preceding 
year  of  the  beloved  Superior-General,  Reverend  Mother  Agatha 
Guthrie,  the  interim  between  her  lamented  demise  and  the  as¬ 
sembling  of  the  Chapter  having  been  filled  in  by  her  Assistant, 
Mother  Gonzaga  Grand.  The  election,  presided  over  by  the 
Most  Reverend  John  Joseph  Glennon,  Archbishop  of  St.  Louis, 
resulted  in  the  choice  of  Sister  Agnes  Gonzaga  Ryan,  who  im¬ 
mediately  assumed  the  responsibility  of  Mother-General,  the 
fourth  in  line  from  the  revered  Mother  Celestine. 

Reverend  Mother  Agnes  Gonzaga  was  born  on  January  22, 
1855,  'm  Houghton,  Michigan,  and  was  baptized  by  the  renowned 
missionary  Bishop,  Frederic  Baraga,  then  Vicar- Apostolic  of 
the  Upper  Peninsula  of  Michigan.  Her  early  training  she  re¬ 
ceived  from  her  parents,  devout  Irish  Catholics  in  affluent  cir¬ 
cumstances,  who  instilled  into  their  five  children,  of  whom  she 
was  the  eldest,  their  own  characteristic  traits  of  generosity  and 
of  delicate  and  thoughtful  consideration  for  the  poor  and  the 
unfortunate.  When  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  opened  in  1866 
the  first  Catholic  school  in  Hancock  and  one  of  the  very  few 
in  all  of  upper  Michigan,  Alice  Ryan  became  their  apt  and 
diligent  pupil.  Her  devoted  teachers,  struggling  bravely  against 
adverse  circumstances  in  the  primitive  conditions  then  prevailing 
in  the  Lake  district,  were  a  source  of  great  edification  to  the 
alert-minded,  impulsive  young  girl;  and  when  she  felt  herself 
called  to  the  same  life  of  generous  sacrifice,  she  did  not  hesitate 

to  break  the  strong  ties  that  bound  her  to  home  and  friends. 

296 


MOTHER 


\GNES  GONZAGA  RYAN 

1855-1917 


MOTHER  AGNES  GONZAGA  RYAN 


297 


In  the  fall  of  1873,  she  entered  the  novitiate  of  the  Provincial 
House  in  Troy,  New  York,  attracted  to  that  place  rather  than 
to  the  Mother  House  in  St.  Louis  by  the  presence  in  Troy  as 
Provincial  Superior  of  Mother  Gonzaga  Grand,  whom  she  had 
known  and  loved  in  Hancock  as  one  of  its  pioneer  community. 
With  two  other  postulants,  she  received  the  habit  of  the  Sister¬ 
hood  on  December  25,  1873,  the  date  an  unusual  concession  to 
the  ardor  of  the  young  aspirants.  After  her  profession  on 
March  19,  1876,  she  taught  for  several  years  in  Troy.  Her 
quick,  keen  intellect,  thorough  grasp  of  educational  needs  and 
problems,  ready  and  understanding  sympathy  with  pupils, 
parents,  and  fellow-teachers,  early  won  the  confidence  of  her 
superiors;  and  on  the  opening  of  St.  Mary’s  School  in  Glens 
Falls,  New  York,  in  1883,  s^ie  was  selected  as  Superior  of  that 
large  and  prosperous  mission.  She  was  transferred  in  1887  to 
Albany,  where,  as  Superior  of  the  convent  there,  she  was  also 
supervisor  of  the  parochial  schools  in  the  province;  and  served 
in  that  capacity  until  a  threatened  collapse,  due  to  strenuous  work 
and  a  delicate  constitution,  necessitated  her  removal  to  Denver, 
Colorado,  From  1896  until  her  election  as  Superior-General 
in  1905,  she  was  a  member  of  the  Council  at  the  Mother 
House. 

Endowed  with  rich  natural  gifts,  high-minded  and  generous, 
and  skilled  in  the  execution  of  well-made  plans,  she  found  an 
outlet  for  her  tireless  energy  in  the  many  onerous  duties  which 
fell  upon  her  willing  shoulders  during  Reverend  Mother  Agatha’s 
declining  years.  More  and  more  did  the  latter  recognize  and 
appreciate  the  keen  mentality  of  the  junior  councillor,  her  tact 
in  management,  and  her  equanimity  in  facing  the  difficulties 
inseparable  from  a  share  in  the  administration  of  a  large  Com¬ 
munity  whose  members  were  spread  from  New  York  to  Cali¬ 
fornia,  and  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The 
penetrating  mind  and  quick  insight  of  the  aged  Superior-General, 
experienced  in  the  ways  of  grace  and  full  of  faith  in  a  guiding 
Providence,  may  have  pictured  a  future  not  so  distant,  when 


298  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

the  bark  of  which  she  had  long  been  the  worthy  pilot  would  be 
steered  by  the  hand  of  Sister  Agnes  Gonzaga,  to  whom  she 
entrusted  many  important  affairs,  and  whose  active  and  almost 
impetuous  zeal  she  tempered  by  her  own  more  conservative 
ideals.  Thus  was  Sister  Agnes  Gonzaga  prepared  for  the  great 
responsibilities  of  the  twelve  years  during  which  her  religious 
government  bore  abundant  fruit  to  the  Congregation. 

Serving  with  her  as  her  Council  for  these  twelve  years  were 
Mother  Agnes  Rossiter,  Assistant-General,  Sister  Aloysius 
Andres,  Sister  Concordia  Horan  and  Sister  Columbine  Ryan, 
women  of  long  and  varied  experience  and  recognized  ability  in 
the  Congregation,  ready  to  encourage  every  movement  that  stood 
for  religious  or  intellectual  advancement.  Such  movements, 
whether  local,  diocesan  or  national,  enlisted  the  active  interest 
and  practical  assistance  of  Reverend  Mother  Agnes  Gonzaga, 
who,  while  giving  minute  attention  to  Community  affairs,  kept 
in  touch  with  the  most  recent  trend  of  thought,  especially  in 
education,  and  shaped  her  policies  along  broad  lines.  “Quietly 
and  unobtrusively  she  worked,  as  all  great  souls  do  work  in  the 
realms  of  nature  and  of  grace ;  but  grandly,  too,  and  most  success¬ 
fully  did  she  perform  the  many  and  varied  tasks  calling  for  her 
life-giving  touch,  her  forward  propulsion.”  1 

She  knew  intimately  the  workings  of  her  Community  as  one 
who  had  taken  a  part  in  all  its  activities.  Through  her  official 
visits,  enlivened  by  her  stimulating  conversation  and  made  fruit¬ 
ful  by  her  sympathy  and  advice,  and  through  a  correspondence 
remarkable  for  its  literary  excellence  as  well  as  for  its  spiritual 
unction,  her  intercourse  with  her  numerous  houses  was  kept  up 
without  interruption;  and  hospital  and  asylum,  college,  academy 
and  parochial  school  felt  her  vivifying  influence  and  the  effect  of 
her  forceful  personality.  Her  problems  were  not  those  which 
had  confronted  her  predecessors  in  office,  who  in  new  and  ever 
widening  circles  had  helped  to  spread  the  Kingdom  of  Christ 
on  earth  by  surmounting  in  many  .instances  almost  insuperable 

1  Archbishop  Ireland  in  Ariston,  p.  7.  St.  Paul,  1917. 


MOTHER  AGNES  GONZAGA  RYAN 


299 


obstacles;  but  into  each  line  of  work  which  they  had  well  estab¬ 
lished  she  infused  renewed  spirit  and  vigor.  New  conditions 
of  progress  in  education,  in  medical  and  social  service,  were 
calling  for  adjustment,  and  the  Superior-General  was  responsive 
to  each  demand.  In  special  schools  and  universities  at  home  and 
in  art  institutes  abroad,  she  procured  for  the  Sisters  the  best 
opportunities  of  perfecting  themselves  in  their  various  avoca¬ 
tions;  and  she  encouraged  each  to  the  highest  individual  efforts 
in  science,  letters,  music  or  art,  whatever  the  part  assigned 
might  be. 

The  fall  of  1908  found  her  on  her  way  to  Rome  in  the  interests 
of  the  Congregation.  With  Mother  Agnes,  Assistant-General, 
and  Mother  Seraphine,  Provincial  Superior  of  St.  Paul,  she 
embarked  November  26  on  the  steamer  Provence,  another  com¬ 
panion  of  the  voyage  being  Archbishop  Ireland.  On  December 
3  they  arrived  at  Havre,  and  after  several  days  in  Paris,  left 
December  8  for  the  Mother  House  in  Lyons.  At  Rome,  where 
they  arrived  December  14,  they  were  joined  by  Sister  Celestine 
Howard,  who  in  company  with  three  of  her  Sisters  bound  for 
Florence,  had  preceded  them.  On  January  9,  they  were  received 
in  private  audience  by  Pius  X.  His  Holiness  expressed  a  lively 
interest  in  the  history  and  progress  of  the  Congregation,  urged 
continued  efforts  towards  increasing  its  strength  and  unity,  and 
sent  his  blessing  to  the  Sisters  in  America.  A  privilege  much 
appreciated  by  Reverend-Mother  and  her  companions  was  that 
of  being  present  in  the  consistorial  chamber  of  the  Vatican 
on  January  24,  1909,  for  the  pronouncement  by  the  Holy 
Father  of  the  beatification  of  Clement  Hofbaur  and  Joan  of 
Arc. 

Florence,  Milan,  Venice,  Genoa  and  Lourdes  were  visited  by 
the  travellers  before  returning  to  St.  Louis,  which  they  reached 
in  April.  They  had  collected  some  valuable  art  treasures  for 
the  American  houses,  among  them  the  Stations  of  the  Cross  by 
Gagliardi,  the  last  great  work  executed  by  that  distinguished 
artist.  The  Sisters  then  in  Florence  and  others  sent  from  the 


3oo  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Mother  House  in  1913  and  1914  increased  the  Community’s 
small  but  prized  collection,  which  includes  originals  from  the 
brushes  of  Raphael,2  Veronese,  and  Murillo,  by  first  copies  of 
Van  Dyke,  Botticelli,  Perugino,  Raphael,  Carlo  Dolci,  Albe'rti- 
nelli  and  Philippino  Lippi,  made  from  masterpieces  in  the  Pitti, 
Ufizi  and  Ferroni  Galleries. 

Like  her  predecessor,  Reverend  Mother  Agnes  Gonzaga  made 
the  training  of  teachers  for  the  grade  schools  a  special  care, 
and  in  1906,  appointed  as  supervisor  Sister  Marcella  Manifold, 
who  had  made  a  life-long  study  of  the  chartered  schools  in  New 
York,  and  who  became  a  recognized  force  in  the  organization 
of  the  school  system  in  St.  Louis.  When  a  movement  was 
started  there  for  free  diocesan  high  schools,  it  received  its 
strongest  impetus  from  the  authorities  in  Carondelet.  In  the 
early  nineties,  Mother  Agatha  had  at  heart  a  similar  project; 
and  in  the  hope  of  bringing  it  to  fruition,  announced  a  central 
high  school  for  girls  at  the  Convent  of  Our  Lady  of  Good 
Council,  outlining  a  course  and  selecting  teachers  for  the  same. 
In  the  absence  of  encouragement  and  of  correspondence  with  her 
far-seeing  plans,  the  idea  was  abandoned,  to  be  taken  up  as  a 
matter  of  general  interest  thirty  years  later.  In  1911,  two  Sis¬ 
ters  were  given  by  Reverend  Mother  Agnes  Gonzaga  as  teachers 
for  the  Kain  High  School,  one  of  two  begun  that  year  for  girls,3 
the  second  being  the  Rosati  in  charge  of  two  School  Sisters  of 
Notre  Dame.  These  schools  were  merged  the  following  year 
in  the  Rosati-Kain,  a  diocesan  high  school,  which  both  com¬ 
munities  working  jointly,  and  with  a  faculty  composed  at  present 
of  twenty  Sisters — ten  from  each  community — have  brought  to 
the  highest  point  of  efficiency.  It  was  recognized  in  its  third 
year  by  the  State  University  of  Missouri  as  an  affiliated  institu¬ 
tion,  and  in  1917  was  accredited  to  the  Catholic  University  of 
America. 

2  A  Madonna  and  Child  from  the  Certosa  in  Florence,  presented  in  1874 
by  Reverend  Father  Browne  of  Mobile,  Alabama. 

3  The  boys  high  schools  were  placed  in  charge  of  the  Brothers  of  Mary. 


MOTHER  AGNES  GONZAGA  RYAN 


301 


Besides  this  high  school,  ten  parochial  schools  4  were  supplied 
with  teachers  from  the  Mother  House  in  the  years  between  1905 
and  1917;  and  in  the  fall  of  1909,  the  corner  stone  of  the  new 
St.  Teresa’s  Academy  and  Junior  College  in  the  Country  Club 
District  of  Kansas  City  was  laid  by  Archbishop  Glennon  of  St. 
Louis,  assisted  by  the  venerable  Bishop  Hogan  and  Right  Rev¬ 
erend  Thomas  F.  Lillis  of  Kansas  City.  The  old  site  of  1866 
had  long  since  been  surrounded  by  business  districts ;  and  the 
pioneer  academy,  a  landmark  of  the  city  and  the  center  of  its 
earliest  intellectual  life,  abandoned  on  the  completion  of  the  new 
convent  and  given  over  to  wreckers  a  few  years  later,  excited 
general  interest,  and  admiration  for  the  builders  and  materials 
of  the  half  century  past.  The  school  had  been  chartered  by  the 
Missouri  University  in  1908  through  the  efforts  of  Sister  Evelyn 
O’Neill,  under  whose  direction  the  new  St.  Teresa’s  was  planned 
and  one  of  the  proposed  three  buildings  erected  for  academic 
and  collegiate  work. 

A  second  institution  in  Kansas  City  which  suffered  from  its 
changed  environment  as  the  progress  of  industrial  life  shifted 
the  center  of  population  southward,  and  smoking  factory  chim¬ 
neys  replaced  the  trees  that  had  shaded  well  kept  lawns,  was 
St.  Joseph’s  Hospital.  Founded  in  1875  in  a  private  residence 
known  as  the  Waterman  House  on  Penn  Street,  it  had,  under 
its  early  superiors,  Sisters  Celestia  O’Reilly,  Virginia  Joseph 
Burns  and  Liguori  McNamara,  and  with  the  co-operation  for 
forty-eight  years  of  the  eminent  physician  and  surgeon,  Dr. 
J.  D.  Griffith,  overcome  difficulties  of  limited  space  and  help,  had 
attracted  to  itself  the  best  medical  talent,  and  grown  up  with  the 

4  These  were  as  follows:  St.  Agnes'  in  St.  Louis  (1905);  Holy  Angels’, 
Indianapolis  (1907);  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  Denver  (1908);  Sacred  Heart, 
Manitowac,  Wis.  (1908),  from  which  the  Sisters  were  withdrawn  in  1921; 
St.  Viator’s  (Elementary  and  High)  Chicago  (1910)  ;  Holy  Cross,  Champaign, 
Illinois  (1912);  Sacred  Heart,  Columbia,  Mo.  (1912);  and  in  Kansas  City, 
Mo.,  the  Cathedral  (1910);  the  Assumption  (1913);  and  Our  Lady  of 
Guadalupe  (Mexican),  (1917). 


302  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

city  as  part  of  its  great,  pulsing  life.  In  1917,  it  transferred  its 
patients  to  the  newly  erected  building  on  Linwood  Boulevard, 
a  marvel  of  up-to-date  construction  and  equipment. 

Reverend  Mother  Agnes  Gonzaga,  who  had  supervised  the 
plans  for  the  great  Renaissance  structure,  was  among  those 
present  when  ground  was  broken  for  it  on  September  1,  1915. 
Before  its  opening  two  years  later,  those  who  loved  her  best 
could  not  conceal  the  dread  of  her  approaching  end.  “What 
has  God  not  done  for  us?  How  shall  we  thank  him  adequately?” 
she  had  written  in  her  community  letter  in  1911,  announcing 
the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  the  American  foundation  at 
Carondelet.  In  her  “thoughtful  looking  backward,”  she  had 
recalled  to  the  minds  of  present  earnest  workers  the  hundreds  of 
others  “who  have  entered  into  a  rest  which  is  still  work  because 
of  the  example  and  impetus  once  given.”  Of  such  a  character 
was  the  rest  into  which  she  prepared  to  enter,  when,  after  a 
sojourn  in  Denver  in  the  fall  of  1916  in  the  vain  effort  to  regain 
her  failing  strength,  she  returned  to  the  Mother  House,  and 
with  an  unbroken  spirit,  endured  months  of  physical  suffering. 

In  May,  she  tendered  her  resignation  to  the  members  of  the 
Chapter  then  in  session,  and  welcomed  their  choice  of  a  successor 
in  Mother  Mary  Agnes  Rossiter  and  of  the  latter’s  Council : 
Mother  Rose  Aurelia  Higgins,  Assistant-General,  Sisters  Aloysius 
Andres,  Hyacinth  Werden,  and  Margaret  Mary  Brady.  At  day 
break  on  the  morning  of  June  14,  Commencement  Day  that  year 
for  the  girls  of  the  academy,  Mother  Agnes  Gonzaga’s  ardent 
soul,  chastened  by  long  hours  of  pain,  went  forth  to  meet  its 
Maker.  Twenty  successive  groups  of  white-robed  seniors  had 
received  from  her  a  greeting  and  a  God-specd  on  their  graduation 
day ;  the  twenty-first  viewed  her  still  form  with  the  awed  gaze 
which  exuberant  youth  turns  on  death.  Everywhere  was  missed 
her  welcome  presence,  “yet  her  spirit  lingered  in  the  old  familiar 
places ;  sweet  memories  haunted  study  room  and  cloister ;  the 
charm  of  her  personality  was  felt  at  every  turn.  Never  had 
she  so  dominated  a  Commencement  Day,”  writes  a  Sister  cor- 


st.  Joseph’s  hospital,  Kansas  city,  Missouri 
st.  mary’s  hospital,  Minneapolis,  Minnesota 


MOTHER  AGNES  GONZAGA  RYAN 


303 


respondent  of  the  Ariston;  5  “other  classes  had  felt  her  friendly 
hand-clasp,  had  heard  her  inspiring  words;  but  the  Class  of  1917 
knew  that  her  spirit,  reaching  down  from  eternity,  blessed  them 
and  commended  them  to  her  Lord  and  King.” 

At  her  obsequies  on  June  16,  the  Most  Reverend  John  Joseph 
Glennon,  Archbishop  of  St.  Louis,  paid  tribute  to  the  character 
and  virtues  of  Reverend  Mother  Agnes  Gonzaga,  from  whom 
had  come  the  first  word  of  encouragement  for  the  erection  of 
a  wondrous  Cathedral,  of  a  great  Seminary  for  young  Levites, 
and  whose  sympathy  and  support  were  back  of  every  movement 
that  “stood  for  the  soul  of  the  Church,  for  the  spirit  of  faith, 
for  the  progress  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.”  It  was  with  these 
noble  ends  in  view  that  she  made  unceasing  efforts  for  the 
progress  of  her  own  Congregation ;  and  an  approving  Providence 
crowned  her  labors,  as  it  had  crowned  those  of  her  predecessors, 
with  blessings  that  bore  fruit  according  to  the  promised  hundred¬ 
fold. 

She  had  a  faithful  co-operator  in  Mother  Mary  Agnes  Rossiter, 
who,  as  Assistant-General  from  1905  until  1917,  was  intimately 
associated  with  her  in  all  her  undertakings.  Reverend  Mother 
Agnes  Gonzaga  relied  much  on  the  calm,  clear  judgment  of  her 
devoted  assistant,  whose  sympathetic  friendship  and  loyal  sup¬ 
port  lightened  her  burden  of  responsibility.  During  twelve 
years,  their  united  energies  were  directed  to  the  increase  of  God’s 
glory,  and  to  the  welfare,  spiritual  and  temporal,  of  their  large 
religious  family.  In  the  character  of  Mother  Mary  Agnes,  a 
rare  combination  of  firmness  and  gentleness  inspired  confidence 
and  won  all  hearts.  She  was  universally  loved  and  esteemed  by 
the  Sisters,  who  received  with  joy  the  announcement  of  her 
election  in  1917  as  Superior-General. 

The  Sisters  belonging  to  the  St.  Louis  Mother  House,  at 
present  (1922)  under  the  government  of  Reverend  Mother  Mary 
Agnes  Rossiter,  number  two  thousand,  four  hundred  and  forty- 
one.  They  are  located  in  twenty-four  dioceses,  with  provincial 


6  Vol.  XII,  No.  1,  p.  8. 


304  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

houses  and  novitiates  in  the  dioceses  of  St.  Louis,  St.  Paul, 
Albany,  Los  Angeles  and  Savannah.6,  They  conduct  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty-five  parochial  grade  schools,  thirty-four  high 
schools,  eighteen  academies,  one  conservatory  of  music  and  art 
with  over  eleven  hundred  pupils,  and  three  colleges.  They 
have  also  one  school  for  colored  children,  and  four  Indian  in¬ 
dustrial  schools  registering  one  thousand  Indian  boys  and  girls. 
The  pupils  in  the  schools  average  sixty  thousand,  three  hundred 
and  sixty  of  whom  are  college  students.  Of  this  number  two 
hundred  and  eighty  are  in  the  College  of  St.  Catherine  in  St. 
Paul. 

The  benevolent  institutions  in  charge  of  the  Congregation 
include  ten  hospitals,  eight  orphan  asylums,  two  institutes  for  the 
deaf,  a  day  nursery,  an  infant  asylum,  and  a  temporary  refuge 
for  homeless  children,  with  an  average  yearly  record  of  four 
hundred  and  fifty  inmates  received  and  permanently  placed.  The 
average  number  of  patients  cared  for  yearly  in  the  hospitals  is 
sixteen  thousand  six  hundred. 

While  the  Congregation  is  chiefly  devoted  to  education,  it 
has  never  relaxed  in  its  care  of  the  sick,  the  afflicted  and  the 
homeless.  The  purpose  of  its  founders,  that  its  members  while 
laboring  for  their  own  perfection,  might  “serve  their  neighbor 
with  care,  diligence  and  cordiality,”  7  was  followed  out,  as  we 
have  seen,  in  the  first  work  undertaken  by  the  Sisters  as  an 
organized  body,  among  the  orphan  girls  of  Mont-Ferrand.  “We 
must  labor  to  establish  an  Institute  of  self-annihilation,”  wrote 
John  Paul  Medaille  to  the  first  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  at  Le  Puy 
in  October  1650.  “It  should  be  lowly  and  hidden  like  Jesus  in 
the  Holy  Eucharist,  wherein  He  is  so  concealed  as  to  be  almost 
invisible.  Let  it  be  nothing  in  the  eyes  of  the  world;  but  before 
God,  whatever  He  in  His  infinite  mercy  may  design  to  make  it.” 

6  The  Sisters  in  this  diocese,  originally  from  Le  Puy,  France,  and  until 
recently  under  Episcopal  jurisdiction,  were  affiliated  to  the  St.  Louis 
Congregation  in  1922,  and  with  the  approval  of  Pope  Benedict  XV,  were 
received  as  a  distinct  province. 

7  Constitutions,  p.  4.  Lyons,  1847. 


MOTHER  AGNES  GONZAGA  RYAN 


3°5 


After  its  establishment  In  Lyons  in  1696,  we  find  the  Sisters, 
following  the  lead  of  Divine  grace,  engaged  in  all  the  active 
works  of  charity,  caring  for  the  sick  in  hospitals,  instructing 
prisoners  conducting  dispensaries  for  the  poor,  and  even  main¬ 
taining  a  refuge  for  penitent  girls.8  Their  schools  were  located 
in  places  where  no  other  teaching  community  existed,  and  were 
chiefly  for  the  children  of  the  poor. 

The  Revolution,  dispersing  the  congregation,  left  as  one  of  its 
most  dire  consequences  an  almost  total  ignorance  of  God  and 
religion  among  the  young;  and  the  necessity  for  religious 
teachers,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Cardinal-Archbishop  of  Lyons, 
over-shadowed  every  other  need  of  the  period  immediately  fol¬ 
lowing  those  diastrous  years.9  He  emphasized  this  necessity  in 
the  reorganization  of  the  Congregation,  realizing  the  great  in¬ 
fluence  which  well-instructed  young  women,  as  the  future  mothers 
of  France,  would  exercise  on  society; 1,0  and  the  training  of 
teachers  became  an  object  of  special  care  and  attention  on  the 
part  of  Mother  Saint  John  Fontbonne  and  her  successors,  though 
the  works  of  charity  were  also  zealously  promoted. 

“They  will  make  good  infirmarians,”  wrote  their  spiritual  di¬ 
rector,  Father  Cholleton,  in  1836,  enumerating  to  Bishop  Rosati 
the  qualifications  of  the  Sisters  who  left  France  that  year  to  make 
the  American  foundation ;  and  their  weekly  ministrations  to  the 
poor  and  sick  in  the  neighborhood  of  their  primitive  dwelling 
bore  eloquent  testimony  to  the  justice  of  the  characterization. 
Many  years  passed,  however,  before  they  assumed  the  role  of 
nurses  in  an  official  capacity.  When  the  need  for  such  service 
came,  it  did  not  find  them  wanting,  though  no  scientific  prepara¬ 
tion,  such  as  is  common  today,  was  given  to  the  few  Sisters  who 
were  sent  in  1853  in  answer  to  Bishop  Cretin’s  urgent  demands 
to  establish  the  pioneer  hospital  in  Minnesota  and  the  first  per¬ 
manent  one  in  charge  of  the  Community.  The  sign-manual  of 

8  Bouchace,  op.  cit.,  p.  21. 

9  Ibid.,  p.  75. 

10  Ibid.,  p.  75- 


3o6  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

their  profession  was  the  compassionate  heart,  eager  to  soothe 
away  pain  from  the  weary  sufferers,  the  woman’s  intuition  guid¬ 
ing  their  fingers  in  the  accomplishment  of  their  new  and  difficult 
tasks. 

Monuments  to  the  success  and  perseverance  of  that  small  band 
and  of  the  devoted  Sisters  who  followed  them,  are  the  great 
structures  of  today,  into  the  plans  and  equipment  of  which  have 
entered  the  latest  and  best  ideas  of  chemist,  physicist  and  surgeon, 
and  where  small  armies  of  registered  nurses  and  pharmacists 
and  expert  technicians  supplement  in  ward  and  sick  room,  in 
the  laboratories,  electro-therapeutic  and  X-ray  departments,  the 
labors  of  skilled  physicians  in  making  each  hospital  or  sanato¬ 
rium  a  temple  of  science  as  well  as  of  mercy. 

The  last  contribution  to  this  group  of  activities  was  made 
when  the  new  St.  Mary’s  in  Minneapolis  was  opened  in  1918 
and  registered  under  the  College  of  Surgeons.  It  superseded 
the  earlier  one — pretentious  and  well  equipped  in  its  time — built 
on  a  slight  elevation  above  the  right  bank  of  the  Mississippi  and 
commanding  refreshing  views  of  water  and  woodland.  From 
service  plants  and  laboratories  for  specialized  research,  to  ex¬ 
quisite  chapel,  expansive  sun-parlors  and  roof-gardens,  it  forms 
a  complete  unit,  evidencing  the  scientific  builder,  and  contributing 
in  its  every  feature,  not  the  least  important  of  which  is  a  free 
clinic  and  dispensary  for  the  poor,  to  the  ease  and  comfort  of 
those  who  suffer.  The  Government  recognized  the  high  standard 
maintained  at  St.  Mary’s  when  it  requisitioned  a  department  for 
rehabilitation  work  among  veterans  of  the  World  War. 

An  average  of  one  thousand  seven  hundred  is  the  yearly  record 
of  orphaned  or  homeless  children  for  whom  provision  is  made 
in  the  various  institutions  of  the  Congregation.  One  of  these, 
the  Home  for  the  Friendless,  in  Chicago,  is  unique  in  furnishing 
a  temporary  refuge  for  destitute  children  until  permanent  homes 
are  found  for  them.  It  is  located  on  the  border  of  Lake 
Michigan  in  the  old  historic  building  that  from  1871  until  the 
opening  of  the  diocesan  Industrial  Home  in  1912  was  St.  Joseph’s 


MOUNT  ST.  JOSEPH.  PROVINCIAL  HOUSE,  AUGUSTA,  GEORGIA 


MOTHER  AGNES  GONZAGA  RYAN 


307 


Orphan  Asylum.  In  its  present  capacity,  the  Home  fills  a  press¬ 
ing  need  of  the  great  city,  where  daily  tragedies  in  child  life 
bring  pitiful  bits  of  humanity  to  the  convent  door,  beyond  which 
lies  for  many  of  them  the  first  homelike  experiences  in  their 
dwarfed  and  sunless  years.  Applicants  are  admitted  through  the 
Central  Bureau  of  Catholic  Charities,  to  which  they  are  referred 
by  all  the  welfare  agencies  of  the  city,  including  the  Municipal 
and  United  States  District  Courts. 

The  great  majority  of  these  unfortunate  children  arrive  at 
the  Home  in  a  wretched  condition;  but  each  emerges  from  the 
isolation  ward,  to  which  he  is  first  consigned,  transformed  by 
care  and  cleanliness  into  an  apparently  new  being,  and  enters  a 
cheery  class  or  playroom  with  a  brighter  outlook  on  life  than 
has  ever  before  been  vouchsafed  him.  Permanent  records  kept 
at  the  institution  show  four  thousand  inmates  received  in  eight 
years,  and  given,  during  the  temporary  sojourn  which  each  is 
allowed  to  make  until  parent,  relative  or  Good  Samaritan  is 
found  to  provide  for  a  better  future,  daily  secular  and  religious 
instruction  to  aid  them  in  their  battle  with  life. 

In  the  field  of  deaf-mute  education,  the  extent  and  quality 
of  work  done  by  the  Sisters  of  Saint  Joseph  are  comparatively 
unknown  outside  the  circles  of  the  deaf  and  those  sympathetically 
interested  in  this  afflicted  class.  From  1837,  when  Sister  Celes- 
tine  Pommerel  and  Sister  Saint  John  Fournier  responded  to  the 
appeal  of  the  first  Bishop  of  St.  Louis  for  laborers  in  what  was 
then  an  uncultivated  field,  until  the  present,  the  Congregation  in 
America  has  never  discontinued  the  onerous  and  at  times  most 
discouraging  task  of  conveying  a  knowledge  of  truth  to  those 
silent  ones,  for  whom  there  is  “no  charm  in  music,  no  joy  in 
children’s  voices,”  and  of  teaching  them  to  give  forceful  and 
beautiful  expression  to  the  imprisoned  thoughts  struggling  in 
their  eager  minds  for  utterance. 

Left  almost  wholly  without  material  aid  in  the  difficult  under¬ 
taking,  the  devoted  teachers  could  count  for  decades  together 
only  on  the  assistance  and  example  of  the  Great  Teacher,  whose 


3o8  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

“Ephpheta!”  spoken  nearly  two  thousand  years  ago  and  fol¬ 
lowed  by  miracles  of  speech  and  hearing,  gave  evidence  of  His 
divine  compassion  for  this  portion  of  His  flock.  The  children 
brought  under  the  care  of  the  Sisters  were  often  of  the  most 
destitute  class,  and  the  problem  of  supporting  them  was  added 
to  that  of  providing  capable  instruction.  On  the  withdrawal 
in  1847  of  the  State  funds  granted  in  Missouri  by  a  legislative 
act  of  1839  for  the  maintenance  and  education  of  the  deaf,  the 
Sisters  were  thrown  on  their  own  resources  and  the  charity  of 
well-disposed  friends  in  keeping  up  their  school  for  deaf-mute 
girls.  In  1870,  they  were  able  to  begin  at  Hannibal,  Missouri, 
a  branch  for  boys.  This  was  transferred  in  1885  to  St.  Louis, 
where  both  boys  and  girls  have  since  remained. 

Under  the  combined  and  oral  methods  of  instruction,  the  latter 
including  lip-reading  and  articulation,  the  students  are  given  an 
eight  year  course,  supplemented  by  high  school  subjects  for  those 
who  desire  to  pursue  them.  The  industrial  branches  enter 
largely  into  this  course ;  and  young  men  and  women,  equipped 
for  life  and  citizenship,  yearly  leave  the  school  to  become  useful 
members  of  the  business  world  and  the  makers  of  happy  Cath¬ 
olic  homes.  Graduates  of  the  institution  are  found  in  shops, 
manufacturing  plants,  offices  and  banks,  and  wherever  efficiency 
is  not  dependent  on  the  ability  to  speak  and  hear.  The  girls 
become  adept  seamstresses,  typists  and  accountants,  and  in  rare 
instances  have  developed  great  skill  in  art  and  music.  Six  of 
their  number  answered  the  call  to  a  religious  life,  and  as  members 
of  the  community  known  as  “The  Little  Sisters  of  Our  Lady  of 
Seven  Dolors,”  11  in  Montreal,  Canada,  are  devoting  their  talents 
to  the  education  of  those  afflicted  like  themselves. 

The  community  annals  of  the  deaf  give  prominence  to  the 

11  This  Sisterhood,  founded  in  April  1887  for  deaf-mute  girls  who  desire 
to  consecrate  themselves  to  God,  is  affiliated  to  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of 
Providence.  Its  labors  are  confined  to  the  large  institution  for  the  deaf 
conducted  by  the  latter  community  in  Montreal.  Of  this  school,  Sister 
Teresa  (Ouida  Erd)  the  first  to  enter  from  the  St.  Louis  institute,  was  for 
years  the  only  English  teacher. 


MOTHER  AGNES  GONZAGA  RYAN 


309 


work  of  Sister  Adelina  Whalen,  whose  whole  religious  life  of 
forty  years  was  spent  in  teaching  hundreds  of  eager  and  grateful 
students,  to  whom  the  sound  of  her  voice  was  unknown,  but 
whose  understanding  hearts  hold  her  in  grateful  remembrance; 
of  Sister  Mary  Suso  Colgan  and  Sister  Mary  Borgia  Davis,  the 
last  named  connected  for  twenty-seven  years  with  the  deaf-mute 
institute  in  St.  Louis.  On  these  and  their  assistant  teachers 
devolved  for  many  years  a  great  part  of  the  religious  instruction 
of  the  adult  Catholic  deaf  in  St.  Louis  and  in  Oakland,  California, 
there  being  very  few  priests  in  either  place  acquainted  with  the 
signs.  Since  1914,  Jesuit  Fathers  of  St.  Louis  University, 
having  mastered  the  different  methods  of  teaching  the  deaf, 
direct  the  sodalities,  literary  and  debating  societies,  and  other 
benevolent,  social,  and  religious  activities  of  which  St.  Joseph’s 
Deaf-mute  Institute  is  the  center. 

Thus  is  perpetuated  the  labor  of  sacrifice  and  love  which  our 
pioneer  Sisters  inaugurated  in  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  emulating 
the  zeal  of  John  of  Beverly  and  Francis  de  Sales,  of  the  devoted 
Abbes  de  l’Epee  and  Sicard,  and  adding  a  most  praise-worthy 
avocation  to  the  numerous  others  by  which  the  Sisters  of  Saint 
Joseph  in  the  United  States  endeavor  to  co-operate  with  the 
Divine  Exemplar  in  the  salvation  of  souls. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

I.  MANUSCRIPT  SOURCES 

i.  Community  Archives.  The  principal  manuscript  sources 
for  this  work  are  in  the  archives  of  the  Mother  House,  St.  Louis, 
Missouri.  They  consist  of  (i)  annals,  documents  and  records 
(1836-1922)  ;  (2)  diaries,  letters  and  memoirs  written  by  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Congregation,  and  covering  much  of  the  period 
between  1836  and  1890;  (3)  memoirs  of  Eliza  McKenney 
Brouillet  (1841-1846);  (4)  memoranda  and  letters  from  the 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  in  Brooklyn,  Buffalo,  Wheeling,  Toronto 
and  Philadelphia;  also  copies  of  records  (prior  to  1857)  from 
the  community  archives  in  Toronto  and  Philadelphia;  (5)  letters 
from  the  Mother  House  in  Le  Puy  relative  to  the  martyrs  of 
the  Revolution;  (6)  copies  of  official  documents  from  the  Mother 
House  in  the  Diocese  of  Tarentaise,  Savoy;  (7)  “A  Sketch  of 
Our  Saints  and  Martyrs,”  Sister  Julia  Littenecker;  (8)  Spanish 
War  correspondence  (Sisters)  (1898-1899);  (9)  European 
journals  of  Mother  Mary  Agnes  Rossiter  and  Reverend  Mother 
Agnes  Gonzaga  Ryan  (1908-1909)  ;  and  Roman  and  Florentine 
diary  of  Sister  Baptista  Montgomery  (1913-1914) ;  (10)  letters 
of  Pope  Pius  IX;  Cardinals  Barnabo,  Quaglia,  McCloskey; 
Archbishops  Peter  Richard  Kenrick,  Feehan,  Elder,  Salpointe, 
Lamy,  Bourgade;  Bishops  Baraga,  Mrak,  Amat,  Juncker,  Grace, 
Conroy,  Duggan,  Foley,  Hogan,  Ludden,  Gillow,  of  Oaxaco, 
Mexico;  Fathers  St  Cyr,  Abram  J.  Ryan,  G.  Raymond,  Baxter, 
S.J.,  Menet,  S.J.,  Terhorst,  Jacker,  Donnelly,  Loyzance,  S.J., 
Keveny,  Paris,  Melcher,  Madame  de  la  Rochejaquelin,  and  nu- 
numerous  others;  (11)  official  documents  from  Rome  authenti¬ 
cating  the  relics  in  the  Martyr’s  chapel. 

310 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


3ii 

2.  Diocesan  Archives.  From  the  archives  of  the  St.  Louis  Di¬ 
ocese  were  obtained  (1)  extracts  from  the  diary  of  Bishop 
Rosati ;  (2)  copies  of  an  official  document  from  the  Mother 
House  in  Lyons;  (3)  letters  of  John  Paul  Gaston  de  Pins,  Simon 
Brute,  Charles  Cholleton,  Edmund  Saulnier,  Sisters  Celestine 
Pommerel,  Febronie  Fontbonne,  Delphine  Fontbonne,  Saint  John 
Fournier,  Madame  de  la  Roche jaquelin. 

3.  Parish  Records.  A  few  items  of  historical  interest  were 
found  in  the  records  of  Holy  Family  Church,  Cahokia,  Illinois; 
the  Church  of  Our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel  (Sts.  Mary  and 
Joseph)  Carondelet;  the  Church  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  St. 
Louis,  Missouri. 

4.  Municipal  Records.  Some  important  facts  regarding  the 
early  history  of  the  Sisters  in  Carondelet  were  obtained  from 
the  minutes  of  the  Carondelet  Council  proceeding  prior  to  1851. 

II.  BOOKS  CONSULTED 

I.  REPERTORIES 

Biographie  Universelle  (M.  Michaud)  54  vols.  Paris,  1851. 
Dictionnaire  Universel  (Pierre  Larousse)  Paris  1873. 

Kirchen  Lexikon  (Wetzer  and  Welte),  2d  ed.  Freiburg,  1893. 
La  Grande  Encyclopcdie  (H.  Lamirault,  Editeur),  31  tomes, 
Paris,  s.  d. 

The  Catholic  Encyclopedia ,  14  vols.  New  York,  1907-14. 

II.  DIDACTIC  WORKS 

alvord,  clarence  walworth.  The  Illinois  Country ,  1673- 
1818.  Springfield,  Illinois,  1920. 

Introduction  to  Kaskaskia  Records,  1778-1790,  Springfield 
1909. 

alzog,  john.  History  of  the  Church,  3  vols.  New  York,  1912. 
Translation  by  Pabisch  and  Byrne . 


312  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Bedford,  henry.  Life  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paid,  New  York,  1888. 
bolton,  Herbert  e.  Father  Kino's  Lost  History,  Its  Discovery 
and  Its  Value.  Private  Publication  of  Bibliographical 
Society  of  America.  Vol.  VI.  New  York,  1911. 
bouchage,  leon.  Chroniques  des  Soeurs  de  Saint  Joseph  de 
Chambery.  Chambery,  1911. 

bougaud,  Louis- viCTOR-E mile.  Saint  Chantal  and  the  Founda¬ 
tion  of  the  Visitation  Order.  Translation,  New  York, 
1895. 

Broglie,  emmanuel  de.  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  Translation  by 
M.  Partridge,  London,  1898. 

beuckman,  Frederic.  History  of  the  Diocese  of  Belleville. 
Belleville,  Illinois,  1914. 

burns,  j.  a.,  c.ss.c.  The  Development  of  the  Catholic  School 
System  in  the  United  States.  New  York,  1918. 
clarke,  richard  h.  Lives  of  the  Deceased  Bishops  of  the  Cath¬ 
olic  Church  in  the  United  States,  New  York,  1888. 
clinch,  bryan  j.  California  and  Its  Missions.  San  Francisco, 
1904. 

collet,  m.  Life  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  Baltimore,  1805. 
de  andreis,  felix.  Life  of.  From  Sketches  by  Bishop  Rosati, 
St.  Louis,  1900. 

de  courcy-shea.  The  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States, 
New  York,  1879. 

deuther,  Charles  g.  Life  and  Times  of  Right  Reverend  John 
Timon,  D.D.  New  York,  1890. 

edwards-hopewell.  The  Great  West  and  Her  Metropolis,, 
St.  Louis,  i860. 

engelhardt,  zephyrin,  o.  f.  m.  Missions  and  Missionaries  in 
California,  San  Francisco,  1912. 

The  Franciscans  in  California,  Harbor  Springs,  Michigan, 
1897. 

San  Diego  Mission.  San  Francisco,  1920. 
fremont,  Elizabeth  benton.  Recollections  of.  Compiled  by 
I.  C.  Martin,  New  York,  1912. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


3T3 

garraghan,  gilbert  j.,  s.  j.  The  Catholic  Beginnings  of  Kan¬ 
sas  City.  Chicago,  1920. 

guiney,  louise  imogene.  Monsieur  Henry.  New  York, 
1892. 

hamon,  marie  jean.  Vie  de  Saint  Frangois  de  Sales.  Paris, 
1883. 

heim bucher,  m.  Die  Orden  und  Congregationen  der  Katho -» 
lischen  Kirche.  3  vols.  Paderborn,  1909. 
helyot,  m.  Dictionnaire  des  Ordres  Religiem :,  Paris.  Migne. 
1847-59. 

heming,  h.  h.  The  History  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Wis¬ 
consin,  Milwaukee,  1895-98. 

herbermann,  Charles  g.  The  Sulpicians  in  the  United  States, 
New  York,  1916. 

hewitt,  w.p.h.  History  of  the  Diocese  of  Syracuse,  New 
York.  Syracuse,  1911. 

hickey,  john  edward.  The  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Faith.  Its  Foundation,  Organization,  and  Success 
(1822-1922).  The  Catholic  University  Studies  in  Amer¬ 
ican  Church  History.  Vol.  III.  Washington,  D.  C. 
1922. 

hill,  Walter  j.,  s.  j.  The  History  of  the  St.  Louis  University. 
St.  Louis,  1877. 

houck,  louis.  A  History  of  Missouri  from  the  Earliest  Settle¬ 
ments  until  the  Admission  of  the  State  into  the  Union. 
3  vols.  Chicago,  1908. 

Spanish  Regime  in  Missouri.  2  vols.  Chicago,  1909. 
kowlett.  m.j.  Life  of  Reverend  J.  P.  Mackebeuf,  D.D. 
Pueblo,  Colorado,  1908. 

Ireland,  john.  Life  of  Bishop  Cretin  (incomplete).  Pub¬ 
lished  in  Acta  et  Dicta,  St.  Paul,  1907. 

Our  Consecrated  Sisterhoods  (Pamphlet)  St.  Paul,  1902. 
jackson,  Helen  hunt.  Father  Junipero  Serra  and  the  Mis¬ 
sion  of  California,  Boston,  1902. 

Ramona,  Boston.  1904. 


3i4  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

Janssens,  francis.  Sketch  of  Catholicity  in  Natchez ,  Cincin¬ 
nati,  1887. 

kaskaskia  records.  Collections  of  the  Illinois  State  Historical 
Library.  Vol.  V.  Springfield,  Illinois,  1909. 

kenrick,  francis  Patrick,  Diary  of.  Philadelphia,  1920. 

kino,  eusebio,  s.  j.  Historical  Memoir  of  Pimeria  Alta.  A 
Contemporary  Account  of  the  Beginnings  of  California , 
Sonora,  and  Arizona.  (1683-1711) .  Published  for  the 
first  time  from  the  original  manuscript  in  the  Archives  of 
Mexico  by  Herbert  eugene  bouton.  2  vols.  Cleveland, 
1919. 

lebeurier,  p.  f.  Vie  de  la  Reverende  Mere  Saint  Joseph. 
Paris,  1869.  Translation,  New  York,  1876. 

lyonnet,  abbe.  Le  Cardinal  Fesch.  Lyon,  1841. 

maes,  camillus  p.  The  Life  of  Reverend  Charles  Nerinckx. 
Cincinnati,  1880. 

mazzuchelli,  samuel  o.  p.  Memoirs,  Historical  and  Edifying 
of  a  Missionary  Apostolic.  (Translation  by  sister  bene- 
dicta  Kennedy,  o.  s.  d.  of  Memorie  Istoriche  ed  Edihcante, 
Milan,  1884).  Chicago,  1915. 

mccann,  sister  mary  agnes.  The  History  of  Mother  Sectons 
Daughters.  New  York,  1917. 

mcevoy,  sister  assissium.  Life  of  Mother  Saint  John  Font- 
bonne.  Translation  of  Vie  de  la  Reverende  Mere  Saint 
Jean  Fontbonne ,  Rivaux,  Grenoble,  1885).  New  York 
1887. 

Memorial  Volume.  The  Centenary  of  the  Saint  Louis  Diocese 
(Pamphlet)  St.  Louis,  1918. 

minogue,  anna  c.  Loretto  Annals  of  the  Century.  New 
York,  1912. 

Missiouri  State  Laws.  1838-1847. 

Necrology  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph.  St.  Louis,  1842- 
1922  (From  1842  to  1874  in  manuscript). 

o'hanlon,  john.  Life  and  Scenery  in  Missouri.  Dublin, 
1890. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


3i5 


O’REILLY,  BERNARD.  A  Life  of  Pius  IX.  New  York,  1895. 
ornsby,  Robert.  Life  of  Francis  de  Sales,  New  York,  s.  d. 
0  shea,  j.  j.  The  Two  Kenricks.  Philadelphia,  1904. 
palou,  Francisco.  Noticias  de  la  Nueva  California.  Mexico, 
1792.  California  Historical  Society  Publication .  San 
Francisco,  1874. 

papi,  hector,  s.  j.  The  Government  of  Religious  Communities. 
New  York,  1919. 

Religious  Profession.  New  York,  1918. 
quinn,  d.  a.  Heroes  and  Heroines  of  Memphis.  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  1887. 

ravoux,  augustine.  Memoirs  and  Reminiscences.  St.  Paul, 
1890. 

ricard,  abbe  j.  Le  Cardinal  Fesch.  Paris,  1893. 
rivaux,  abbe.  Vie  de  la  Reverende  Mere  Saint  Jean  Font- 
bonne.  Grenoble,  1885. 

Histoire  de  la  Reverende  Mere  Sacre  Coeur,  Lyon,  1878. 
(Translation,  Montreal,  1910). 

rochejaquelin  de  la,  marie  louise  victoire.  Memoires. 
Paris,  1823. 

salpointe,  j.  b.  San  Xavier  del  Bac.  San  Francisco,  1880. 

Soldiers  of  the  Cross.  Banning,  California,  1898. 
scharf,  thomas  j.  History  of  St.  Louis ,  Philadelphia,  1883. 
sciout,  ludovic.  Histoire  de  la  Constitution  Civile  du  Clerge, 
1790-1802.  Paris,  1873. 

scott,  mrs.  maxwell.  Life  of  Madame  de  la  Rochejaquelin, 
New  York,  1891. 

shea,  john  gilmary.  Life  and  Times  of  Most  Reverend  John 
Carroll.  New  York,  1888. 

History  of  the  Catholic  Missions  among  the  Indians,  New; 
York,  1885. 

A  History  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States, 
New  York,  1890. 

shepherd,  eli hu.  Early  History  of  St.  Louis.  St.  Louis, 
1870. 


3i6  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

sommervogel,  p.  carlos.  Bibliotheque  de  la  Compagme  de 
Jesus.  Paris,  1894. 

thwaites,  reuben  gold.  Jesuit  Relations  and  Other  Allied 
Documents.  Travels  and  Explorations  of  the  Jesuit  Mis¬ 
sionaries  in  New  France,  1610-ipgi.  Cleveland,  1899- 
1901.  73  vols. 

trexler,  h.  a.  Slavery  in  Missouri,  1804-1865.  Baltimore, 
1914. 

verwyst,  Chrysostom,  o.  f.  m.  Life  of  Bishop  Baraga,  Mil¬ 
waukee,  1900. 

walsh,  william.  Life  of  Most  Reverend  Peter  Richard  Ken- 
rick.  Memorial  Volume.  St.  Louis,  1891. 

War  of  the  Rebellion.  Official  Records  of  the  Union  and  Con¬ 
federate  Armies,  Washington,  D.  C.,  1881. 

III.  PERIODICALS 

Acta  et  Dicta,  St.  Paul,  1907-1914. 

Annales  de  la  Propagation  de  la  Foi.  Lyon,  1827-1837. 

Ariston.  College  of  St.  Catherine,  St.  Paul,  16  vols.  1906- 
1922. 

Catholic  Almanac,  The.  1841-1843  (now  Church  Directory). 

Catholic  Historical  Review,  The.  Vol.  III.  1917. 

Illinois  Catholic  Historical  Review,  The.  Chicago,  Illinois, 
4  vols.  1918-1922. 

Indian  Sentinel,  The.  Washington,  D.  C.  1918-19 22. 

Le  Regne  de  Dieu,  Revue  Mensuelle.  Soeurs  de  Saint  Joseph, 
Lyon,  1907-1908. 

Minnesota  Historical  Society  Collections.  St.  Paul,  vol.  Ill, 
1870-1890;  vol.  X,  1900-1904. 

Missouri  Historical  Society  Collections.  St.  Louis,  vol.  IV, 
I9I3- 

Official  Directory  of  Ste.  Genevieve's  Church.  Ste.  Genevieve, 
Missouri,  1904. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


3*7 

St.  Louis  Catholic  Historical  Review.  St.  Louis.  Vols.  I  to  III, 
1919-192 2. 

St.  Joseph's  Journal.  St.  Joseph’s  Academy.  St.  Louis. 
5  vols.  1885-1890. 

IV.  SPECIAL  ARTICLES  REFERRED  TO  OR  QUOTED 

beuckman,  Frederic.  “Civil  and  Ecclesiastical  Jurisdiction  in 
Illinois.”  Illinois  Catholic  Historical  Review.  Vol.  I. 
1918. 

brown,  stuart.  “The  Commons  of  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia  and 
Prairie  du  Rocher.”  Catholic  Historical  Review ,  vol.  II, 
April  1919. 

carr,  john  foster.  “John  Ireland.”  Outlook,  April  1914. 
cox,  sister  Ignatius  loyola.  “The  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  in 
Minnesota.”  Acta  et  Dicta.  St.  Paul,  1914. 
garraghan,  gilbert,  j.,  s.  j.  “Early  Catholicity  in  Chicago.” 

Illinois  Catholic  Historical  Review,  vol.  I,  1918-1919. 
goyau,  georges,  “Le  Puy,”  Catholic  Encyclopedia.  Vol.  ix. 
hynes,  Robert.  “The  Old  Church  at  Cahokia.”  Illinois  Cath¬ 
olic  Historical  Reznew,  vol.  1.  April,  1919. 
holweck,  f.  g.  “Reverend  John  Francis  Loisel.”  St.  Louis 
Catholic  Historical  Review,  vol.  1,  1909. 

“Vater  Saulnier  und  Seine  Zeit.”  Pastoral-Blatt.  St. 
Louis,  April,  1917. 

Ireland,  john.  “Memoirs  of  Lucien  Galtier.”  Minnesota 
Historical  Society  Collections,  vol.  III.  1870-1880. 
kenny,  Laurence,  s.  j.  Missouri’s  Earliest  Settlement  and 
Its  Name.”  St.  Louis  Catholic  Historical  Review,  vol.i, 

I9I9* 

lins,  Joseph.  “Savoy.”  Catholic  Encyclopedia,  vol.  XIII. 
lord,  daniel  a.,  s.  j.  “The  House  of  Silence.”  Queen  s 
IVork.  St.  Louis,  April,  1920. 

mcnulty,  Ambrose.  “The  Chapel  of  St.  Paul  and  the  Begin- 


3 1 8  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  SAINT  JOSEPH 

nings  of  Catholicity  in  Minnesota."  Minnesota  Historical 
Society  Collections,  vol.  X,  part  2.  1900-1904. 
rothensteiner,  JOHN".  “Kaskaskia — Father  Benedict  Roux.” 

Illinois  Catholic  Historical  Review,  vol.  I,  1918-1919.  - 
souvay,  Charles  l.,  c.  m.  “Rosati’s  Elevation  to  the  See  of 
St.  Louis.”  Catholic  Historical  Review,  vol.  Ill,  1917. 
Thompson,  Joseph  j.  “The  Illinois  Missions.”  Illinois  Cath¬ 
olic  Historical  Review,  vol.  I,  July,  1918. 
vermeersch,  a.  “Nuns.”  Catholic  Encyclopedia,  vol.  XI. 


APPENDIX 


INSTITUTIONS  IN  CHARGE  OF  THE 
CONGREGATION 

(Statistics  of  1921-1922) 

ST.  LOUIS  PROVINCE 


St.  Louis,  City  and  County . 

School  or  Academy 
Mother  House  &  Novitiate 
*  St.  Joseph’s  Acadamy 
All  Saints  School 
Assumption 
Cathedral  . 

Holy  Angels . .  . 

Holy  Name  . 

Holy  Rosary  . .  . .  . 

Nativity  . 

Notre  Dame  . 

Our  Lady  of  Lourdes.  .  .  . 
Rosati-Kain,  Diocesan  High 


No.  of  Lay  No.  of 

Sisters  Teachers  Pupils 

1 15 

222 
231 
296 

347 
243' 
529 

639 

241 
366 

49 
5ii 


11 

4  .• 
6  . 

8  ... 

5  •• 

11  .  . 

12  . . . 

3  •  • 
7  •• 


10  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph 
10  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame 


St.  Agnes . .  7 

St.  Ann  .  4 

St.  Anthony  .  14 

St.  Bridget .  3 


*  Institutions  with  High  School  Departments. 

*  *  High  Schools  only. 


3 


1 


375 

i73 

978 

169 


319 


320 


APPENDIX 


School  or  Academy 

St.  Cecilia  . 6 

St.  Columbkille  .  3 

St.  Edward  .  7 

St.  John  .  .  . . . . .  2 

Sts.  John  &  James . 3 

St.  Lawrence  O’Toole . .  . .  5 

St.  Leo . .  .  . . .  11 

St.  Luke  .  . . . 3 

St.  Margaret . . 11 

Sts.  Mary  &  Joseph .  4 

St.  Mary  Magdalen . 2 

St.  Matthew  .  12 

St.  Philip  Neri . 4 

St.  Rita  .  . . .  2 

St.  Roch  .  . . . 5 


No.  of  Lay  No.  of 

Sisters  Teachers  Pupils 


St.  Vincent 


8 


3 

1 


300 

139 
461 

88 
100 
2  66 
668 

J7  4 

533 

140 

64 

732 

231 

69 

457 


Fontbonne  College,  to  be  constructed  at  Hill  Crest. 


OUTSIDE  ST.  LOUIS 

Alabama. 

Mobile,  Cathedral  Boys’  School 
Creole  ” 

St.  Patrick’s  ” 

Colorado. 

Denver,  St.  Francis  de  Sales.  ...  10 


St.  Patrick’s  .........  8  . 

St.  Catherine’s  .  . . 

Illinois. 

Campus,  Sacred  Heart .  4  ...... 

Champaign,  Holy  Cross .  4  . 

Chicago,  Nativity .  25  . 

*  St.  Viator  .  14  . 


66 

80 

348 

161 


80 
132 
1 106 
650 


APPENDIX 


321 


No.  of 


School  or  Academy  Sisters 

Newton,  St.  Joseph .  3  , 

*  Peoria,  Academy  of  Our  Lady. .  13 

Cathedral  School .  6 

Waterloo,  St.  Joseph .  6  . 

Indiana. 

*  Indianapolis,  Sacred  Heart  ....  19  . 

Holy  Angels .  6  . 

Michigan. 

*  Hancock,  St.  Patrick . .  11  . 

St.  Joseph .  9  , 

Ishpeming,  St.  John . . .  .  11  . 

*  Marquette,  Baraga  (Cathedral 

School)  .  16  . 

Negaunee,  St.  Paul .  8 

Missouri. 

*  Chillicothe,  St.  Joseph’s  Academy  11  . 

St.  Columban’s  School..  3  . 

*  Hannibal,  St.  Joseph’s  Academy.  10  . 

Kansas  City,  Assumption......  2  . 

Cathedral  School .  7  . 

Holy  Rosary  (Italian).  7  . 

Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe 

(Mexican) .  3  . 

*  Our  Lady  of  Perpetual 

Help .  12  . 


St.  Teresa  Junior  College  22 

Visitation  .  2 

*  Ste.  Genevieve,  Ste.  Genevieve 

School  .  11 

St.  Joseph,  St.  Patrick .  11 

Immaculate  Conception .  .  5 

Oklahoma. 

*  Muskogee,  Nazareth  Academy.  .  13 


Lay 

Teachers 


1 


i.  . ,  2  .  .1 


5 


No.  of 
Pupils 
.  74 

.  206 
.  260 
.  180 

•  789 

.  212 

.  400 
.  250 

•  370 

.  716 
.  .410 

60 
.  84 

•  307 

.  98 

•  315 
.  402 

.  109 

.  500 
.  150 

•  31 

.  380 
.  406 
.  186 

•  331 


322 


APPENDIX 


No.  of  Lay 

School  or  Academy  Sisters  Teachers 

Wisconsin . 

*  Green  Bay.  St.  Joseph’s  Academy  13 . 

St.  John’s .  7 . 

Keshena.  Indian  Industrial  ....  10 . 

Oconto.  St.  Peter  (French)  ...  .  5 . 

Shawano.  Sacred  Heart .  6 . 

West  De  Pere,  St.  Joseph .  4 . 


No.  of 
Pupils 

,  .  1.90 

•  350 

•  237 

•  250 

•  156 

•  174 


PROVINCE  OF  ST.  PAUL 

St.  Paul. 

St.  Joseph’s  Novitiate  Normal.  .  .  77  . 


*  St.  Joseph’s  Academy  . .  31  . 

College  of  St.  Catherine . .  15  . . 

Derham  Hall  Academic  Dept.  . 

Cathedral  School  .  17  . 

Blessed  Sacrament .  4  . 

St.  Agatha’s  Conservatory .  24  . 

St.  James  . , . .  8  ...... 

St.  John  .  . .  8.  ...... 

St.  Louis  (French)  . .  5  ....... 

St.  Luke  . ).  . . . .  10 . 

St.  Mark  .  .  .  . . , .  16  . 

St.  Mary  .  9  . 

St.  Michael  . 12  . 

St.  Vincent  .  8  . 

Minneapolis. 

Ascension  School  . .  .  16  . 

Holy  Angels  Academy  .  15  ....... 

Our  Lady  of  Lourdes  . .  .  8  . 

Pro-Cathedral .  16  . 


-  490 

16  ......  280 

.  120 

.  7°2 

.  i95 

. 1017 

.  381 

.  345 

......  183 

. . .  437 

.  725 

.  35i 

.  544 

.  429 

........  809 

.  86 

.  280 

.  858 


APPENDIX 


323 


No.  of  Lay 

School  or  Academy  Sisters  Teachers 

St.  Anthony  . ,  12  .  . . 

*  *  St.  Margaret’s  Academy  ....  14 . 

St.  Stephan  . , .  8  .  . . 


No.  of 
Pupils 
•  580 
,  .  270 
,  .  404 


OUTSIDE  OF  THE  TWIN  CITIES 


Minnesota. 


Anoka,  St.  Ann’s  Academy . 

9  ... 

*  Bird  Island,  St.  Mary  . 

9  ... 

Currie.  Immaculate  Heart  .... 

7  ••• 

*  Fulda.  St.  Gabriel  . . 

11  ... 

*  Ghent.  St.  Agnes  . 

6  ... 

*  Graceville.  St.  Mary’s  Academy 

12  ... 

Hastings.  St.  Teresa  . 

6  ... 

Kilkenny.  St.  Canice  .  . . 

7  ••• 

*  Le  Sueur.  St.  Ann . 

11  ... 

Le  Sueur  Center.  St.  Mary.  .  . 

7  . .  . 

*  Marshall.  St.  Joseph’s  Academy 

10  . .  . 

*  Morris.  St.  Mary  . 

10  . .  . 

Olivia.  St.  Aloysius  . 

5  ••• 

Stillwater.  St.  Michael  . 

9  ... 

St.  Peter.  St.  Peter  . 

6  ... 

*  Waverly.  St.  Mary . 

8  ... 

White  Bear.  St.  Mary . 

8  . .  . 

North  Dakota. 

*  *  Grand  Forks.  St.  James 

Academy . 

14  ... 

.  .  .  1 

Pro-Cathedral  School 

13  .  . . 

*  Jamestown.  St.  John’s  Academy 

24  .  . . 

.  .  .  1 

South  Dakota. 

*  Watertown.  Immaculate 

Conception  . 

12  . . . 

186 

222 

140 

250 

171 

323 

113 

97 

190 

138 

294 

254 

168 

203 

98 
190 
256 


120 

445 

350 


401 


324 


APPENDIX 


PROVINCE  OF  TROY,  NEW  YORK 

New  York.  No.  of  Lay  No.  of 

Troy.  School  or  Academy  Sisters  Teachers  Pupils 

St.  Joseph's  Seminary  &  Novitiate  89 . ' 

St.  Anthony  (Italian)  .  2  3  .  245 

St.  Augustine  .  12  2  .  51 1 

St.  Francis .  4 . 188 

St.  Joseph  .  20 . 950 

St.  John  the  Baptist  (French)  ...  4 . 170 

St.  Lawrence  (German  . ,.  4 . 182 

St.  Michael .  4 . 215 

*  St.  Patrick’s  Academy1 .  11  1  ....  ..  476 

St.  Peter’s  Academy . .  13  ......  .......  575 

Albany. 

St.  Ann’s  Academy .  12 . 506 

St.  Anthony  (Italian)  .  2  1  .  115 

Cathedral  Academy .  20 .  2  .  760 

College  of  St.  Rose  ...........  8  3  ......  50 

Amsterdam. 

St.  Mary’s  Academy . .  13  1  .  734 

Binghamton. 

St.  Mary’s  Academy .  12 . 613 

Sts.  Cyril  &  Methodius  (Slovak)  8 . 374 

Cohoes. 

St.  Bernard’s  Academy .  15  3  .  630 

Glens  Falls. 

St.  Mary’s  Academy . .  26 . 1202 

Green  Island. 

St.  Joseph  . . .  3  - •  . .  13s 

Hoosick  Falls. 

St.  Mary’s  Academy .  8 . 340 

Hudson. 

St.  Mary’s  Academy .  12  1  .  428 

1  Academies  in  Troy  Province  all  chartered  under  the  Regents  of  New 
York  as  high  schools. 


APPENDIX 


No.  of 

School  or  Academy  Sisters 

Little  Falls. 

St.  Mary’s  Academy  .  17. 

Rome. 

St.  Peter  .  1 1  . 

Saratoga. 

St.  Peter  .  9  . 

Schenectady. 

St.  Joseph's  Academy .  10  . 

Syracuse. 

Sacred  Heart  Academy .  7  . 

St.  Lucy’s  ’’  18  . 

St.  John’s  ”  11  . 

St.  Patrick’s  ”  12  . 

St.  Vincent  de  Paul .  9  . 

Utica. 

St.  Agnes  Academy .  10  . 

St.  Francis  de  Sales .  19  . 

St.  Patrick  .  7  . 

Watervliet. 

St.  Bridget’s  Academy .  9  . 


Lay 

Teachers 
...  7  .. 


1 


1 


325 

No.  of 
Pupils 

.  872 

•  397 

•  245 

•  425 

.  400 

•  763 

•  472 
.  656 

•  390 

•  5r4 
.  823 

•  389 

.  406 


PROVINCE  OF  LOS  ANGELES 


California. 

Los  Angeles 

St.  Mary’s  Provincial  House.  ...  65 

*  St.  Mary’s  Academy .  18 

Holy  Cross  School  .  9 

St.  Cecilia’s  ”  5 

St  Patrick’s  ”  5 

St.  Vincent’s  ”  .  1 1 

Banning.  St.  Boniface  (Indian)  7 

Fresno.  Our  Lady  of  Victory. .  4 


3 


325 

5io 

243 

300 

573 

120 

100 


326 


APPENDIX 


No.  of  Lay  No.  of 

School  or  Academy  Sisters  Teachers  Pupils 

*  Oakland.  St.  Joseph’s  Institute  n . 373 

*  Oxnard.  St.  Joseph’s  Institute  10 . 156 

Redondo  Beach.  St.  James .  4 .  ico 

*  San  Diego. 

Academy  of  Our  Lady  of  Peace.  18  .  2  172 

Our  Lady  of  the  Angels .  5 . 256 

St.  Joseph’s  School .  4  2  200 

St.  John’s  ”  .  4 .  155 

*  San  Francisco.  Star  of  the  Sea  16 . 750 

Arizona. 

*  Tucson.  St.  Joseph’s  Academy..  14 . 201 

St.  Augustine’s  School  5 . 200 

San  Xavier  del  Bac 

(Papago  Indians)  .  .  7 . 109 

Komatke.  St.  John’s  (Pima 

Indians)  .  9  2  525 

3  Franciscan  Brothers. 

*  Prescott.  St.  Joseph’s  Academy  10 . 225 


PROVINCE  OF  SAVANNAH 


Georgia. 

Atlanta. 

St.  Anthony’s  School  .  5 

Sacred  Heart  .  10 

Augusta. 

*  St.  Joseph’s  Academy .  12 

Brunswick. 

St.  Francis  Xavier .  4 

Savannah. 

Sacred  Heart .  8 

Sharon. 

Sacred  Heart  Academy .  7 


115 

210 

105 

93 

302 

70 


APPENDIX 

327 

Hospitals 

Sisters 

Nurses 

Patients 

(1922) 

Arizona. 

Tucson.  St.  Mary’s . 

...  20 

.  12 .  . 

....  760 

Minnesota. 

St.  Paul.  St.  Toseph’s  .... 

.  .  .,  34 

.  88.. 

....  6098 

Minneapolis.  St.  Mary’s  .  .  . 

•  •  •  34 

. 118. . 

. . . .4429 

M  ichigan. 

Hancock.  St.  Joseph’s  .... 

....  15 

....  700 

M  issouri. 

Kansas  City.  St.  Joseph’s  . 

. .  .  29 

.  7°-  • 

. . . .4545 

New  York. 

Amsterdam.  St.  Mary's  .  .  . 

1 2 

....  700 

Troy.  St.  Joseph’s  . 

3 

••••  379 

North  Dakota. 

Fargo.  St.  John’s  . 

.  . .  30 

.  5* 

....  2626 

Grand  Forks.  St.  Michael’s 

. .  .  17 

.  21 . . 

• • • -1343 

Jamestown.  Holy  Trinity  . 

...  8 

.  25.. 

....  1 1 00 

Other  Institutions  Sisters 

Arizona. 

Inmates 

Tucson.  St.  Mary’s  Orphanage 
California. 

6  . 

.  100 

Oakland.  Deaf-Mute  Institute.. 
Georgia. 

Washington.  St.  Joseph’s  Orphan 

6  . 

.  25 

Home  . 

Illinois. 

Chicago.  Home  for  the 

5  . 

.  45 

Friendless  . 

Minnesota. 

Minneapolis  St.  Mary’s  Orphanage, 

8 . 

.  9i 

(Boys)  . 

18  . 

. 138 

APPENDIX 


Inmates 

. .  .  QO 


328 

Other  Institutions  Sisters 

St.  Paul.  Girls’  Orphan  Home..  11 . 

Missouri. 

Kansas  City.  St.  Joseph’s  Home 

(Girls)  .  14  . 

St.  Louis.  St.  Joseph’s  Home 

(Boys)  .  20  . 

Deaf-Mute  Home...  24  . 

New  York. 

Binghamton.  St.  Mary’s 

Orphanage .  24  175 

Troy.  St.  Joseph’s  Orphan 

Home .  19  262 


LSO 

90 

62 


INDEX 


Abbey,  the,  40-42. 

Academy  Heights,  242. 

Academies:  in  Arizona,  258,  259,  262; 
in  California,  260,  268;  in  Illinois, 
137,  138;  in  Michigan,  146,  147, 
152;  in  Minnesota,  84,  86,  91, 
232,  234,  238,  243,  246;  in  Mis¬ 
souri,  114,  116,  142-145 ;  see  also, 
St.  Joseph’s  Academy,  Caronde- 
let;  in  New  York,  see  Regents  of 
New  York  University;  in  the 
Dakotas,  246;  in  Oklahoma,  200; 
in  Wisconsin,  195,  196. 

Albany,  207. 

Alumnae  Association,  206. 

Amat,  Thaddeus,  65,  126. 

American  missions,  volunteers  for,  31. 

Americanization  of  the  Papagos,  277. 

Amsterdam,  chartered  schools  in, 
218. 

Approbation  of  Holy  See.  See  Con¬ 
gregation. 

Appropriation  for  deaf-mutes,  52- 

Arizona,  pioneer  Sisters  in,  251,  255- 
257- 

Art  collections,  299,  300. 

Audience  of  Superiors  with  Pius  IX, 
1 19,  121 ;  with  Pius  X,  299. 

Autonomy,  67. 

Baccalaureate  degree  at  St.  Cather¬ 
ine’s,  245. 

Baraga,  city  of,  153* 

Baraga,  Frederic,  121,  146,  147- 

Barnabo.  See  Cardinal  Protector. 

Barron,  Edward,  Vicar-Apostolic  of 
Liberia,  64. 

Beckx,  Peter,  124,  214. 

Benevolent  institutions,  304- 

Benneyton,  Mademoiselle,  132. 

Black  Sisters,  the,  18,  19. 

Blessing  of  Pius  X,  299. 

Blow,  Henry  T.,  gift  of,  133- 

Bochard,  Marie  Claude,  22. 

Bochet,  Sister  Jane,  234. 

Bogan,  Mother  Odelia,  223,  226,  227. 


Bonald,  Cardinal  de,  108. 

Boniface  VIII  and  religious  enclo¬ 
sure,  1. 

Bouchage,  Leon,  102. 

Boute,  Sister  Felicite,  59,  60,  171. 

Bradshaw,  Sister  Valeria,  263,  266. 

Byrnes,  Mary  Josephine,  60. 

Cahokia:  arrival  of  Sisters  in,  3 7; 
blessing  of  bread  in,  38;  blessing 
of  chapel  in,  42;  buildings  in,  40; 
confirmation  in,  41 ;  commons  of, 
37;  inundation  of,  63;  revival  of 
mission  at,  99;  withdrawal  of 
Sisters  from,  100. 

Calcassieu,  parish  of,  131. 

Camp  Father  Matthew.  See  Yellow 
fever  in  Memphis. 

Canandaigua,  75,  76. 

Cardinal  Protector,  121. 

Carey,  Mother  Mary  John:  220-223. 

Carondelet :  arrival  of  Sisters  in,  45 ; 
ceremonies  at,  99;  cradle  of  con¬ 
gregation  in  America,  108;  com¬ 
mons  of,  44;  in  1836,  44;  history 
of,  43-44;  a  city,  97. 

Carondelet,  Baron  de,  44. 

Carondelet  Road,  97. 

Catholic  Indian  Bureau,  279,  290. 

Centralized  government,  107,  108. 

Chambery,  diocese  of,  25. 

Chanay,  Mother  St.  Joseph,  25,  83. 

Chapel  of  the  Holy  Family,  203;  of 
St.  Joseph,  135. 

Chapellon,  Sister  Febronie,  39,  174. 

Charbonnel,  Amandus  de,  73. 

Chateau  of  Yon,  22. 

Chicago  fire,  the,  141,  142. 

Chippewas  in  Minnesota,  81 ;  in  Wis¬ 
consin,  147. 

Cholera,  in  St.  Louis,  100;  in  St. 
Paul,  90. 

Cholleton,  Charles,  foreign  vicar  of 
St.  Louis  diocese,  39;  letters  of, 
48,  50,  305 ;  member  of  Society 
for  Propagation  of  the  Faith,  29; 


329 


INDEX 


330 

Spiritual  Father  of  Sisters  in 
Lyons,  23,  24. 

Cholleton,  Claude,  17,  19. 

Church  of  St.  Augustine,  Tucson,  248. 

College:  of  St.  Catherine,  243-245, 
304 ;  of  St.  Rose  of  Lima,  227 ; 
of  St.  Teresa,  144,  301. 

Condamine,  Matthew,  41. 

Congregation  of  St.  Joseph;  appro¬ 
bation  of,  1 18,  121,  122;  authori¬ 
zation  of,  21 ;  name  of,  8;  fiftieth 
anniversary  in  America,  174; 
founders,  3-5;  origin,  6;  purpose, 
3°4- 

Congregations,  laws  against,  14. 

Conservatory  of  St.  Agatha,  237. 

Constitutions :  authors  of,  8 ;  com¬ 
mendation  of,  1 19;  editions  of, 
10,  23;  preparation  of,  8. 

Contract  schools,  287. 

Corrigan,  Sister  Monica,  journal  of, 
253>  254. 

Coughlin,  Mother  Seraphine :  66,  89, 
1 12,  231,  232. 

Course  of  studies,  234,  244.  See  also , 
Curriculum. 

Cox,  Sister  Ignatius  Loyola,  91,  234. 

Creoles,  education  of,  190. 

Cretin,  Joseph:  among  Winnebagos, 
86,  87;  Bishop  of  St.  Paul,  73; 
death,  112;  episcopal  palace,  84; 
in  Ferney,  82;  in  St.  Louis,  54, 
99  5  pen  picture  of,  92. 

Crowley,  Sister  Teresa  Louise,  58. 

Curriculum,  95,  96,  143,  172. 

Damen,  Arnold,  S.  J.,  155. 

Daughters  of  the  Visitation  of  St. 
Mary,  2. 

Deaf-mutes:  education  of,  31,  51; 
first  pupils  in  Carondelet,  52 ; 
method  of  instructing,  309 ;  state 
funds  for,  52;  teachers  of,  48. 

Deaf-mute  Institute:  in  Buffalo,  78; 
in  Oakland,  260,  266;  in  St. 
Louis,  136. 

Deboille,  Sister  St.  Protais,  40,  41,  45, 
46,  92,  174,  15 1. 

Decrees  regarding  congregation,  107, 

1 19,  120. 

De  Smet,  Father,  143. 

Devie,  Alexander  Raymond,  25,  82, 
95- 

Dillon,  Anne  Eliza,  50,  57,  60. 


Diocesan  high  schools,  300. 

Diocesan  Seminary,  62,  98. 

Disguise  of  religious  dress,  35,  70. 

Donnelly,  Bernard,  142,  192. 

Doutreluingue,  Father,  35,  40. 

Du  Bourg,  Valentine,  28. 

Elder,  John  Henry,  106,  121,  131. 

Enclosure,  1,  2. 

Episcopal  approbation:  of  Armand  de 
Bethune,  10;  of  Henry  de  Mau- 
pas,  9;  of  Henry  Villars,  10. 

Erection  of  provinces,  117,  118. 

Facemaz,  Mother  St.  John:  assem¬ 
bles  general  chapter,  116;  death 
of,  170;  in  Rome,  121;  leaves 
Moutiers,  102;  life  of,  112,  113; 
missions  founded  by,  129;  sends 
colony  to  Arizona,  250,  251;  su¬ 
perior  in  Carondelet,  112;  Su¬ 
perior-General,  1 18. 

Falconip,  Diomede,  at  St.  Mary’s,  Los 
Angeles,  267. 

Feehan,  Patrick  A.,  98,  121,  188. 

Ferrari,  Marchioness  de,  123;  Mon¬ 
signor  Joseph  de,  123. 

Ferney,  82. 

Fesch,  Cardinal:  and  the  suppressed 
Congregations,  16;  and  civil  au¬ 
thorities,  25 ;  and  reconstruction 
of  the  Congregation  of  St.  Jo¬ 
seph,  19. 

Fire  at  St.  Lawrence’s  School,  178; 
destroys  St.  Joseph’s  Academy, 

II3\ 

Fitzpatrick,  Miss  Ellen,  136. 

Flood  of  1844,  42.  See  also  Cahokia, 
inundation  of. 

Fontbonne,  Sister  Delphine :  in  Ca¬ 
hokia,  54;  in  Carondelet,  31;  in 
Canada,  73;  in  Philadelphia,  72; 
in  St.  Louis,  65 ;  death  of,  106. 

Fontbonne,  James,  32,  34,  40,  47,  61. 

Fontbonne,  Mother  Febronie :  31,  32, 
34;  life  of,  39;  in  Cahokia,  47; 
returns  to  France,  63;  death  of, 
174  (Note). 

Fontbonne,  Mother  St.  John:  at 
Fourvieres,  32;  disregards  civil 
regulations,  12;  community  of 
Rue  de  la  Bourse  receives,  20; 
foundations  made  by,  26;  in  her 
father’s  home,  14;  in  Lyons,  18; 


INDEX 


331 


in  Monistrol,  12;  in  prison,  13; 
restores  Congregation,  16,  19; 

sends  mission  to  Missouri,  29. 

Fort  St.  Anthony,  81. 

Fort  Yuma.  See  Yuma  Reservation. 

Fournier,  Mother  St.  John,  48,  59, 
60,  66,  69,  71,  72,  73,  89. 

Fourvieres,  Our  Lady  of,  32,  103. 

Franciscans  in  Komatke,  295;  at 
San  Xavier’s,  276. 

Free  elementary  school,  230. 

Fremont,  John  C.,  259. 

French  Revolution,  religious  com¬ 
munities  during,  7. 

French  Town,  37. 

Gallard,  Monsignor  de,  11,  12;  in 
exile,  14;  letter  of,  14,  15. 

Galtier,  Lucian,  81,  82. 

Gaston,  John  Paul,  23,  32. 

Generalate,  112,  116,  231. 

General  chapter,  127. 

Gibbons,  Gardinal,  in  St.  Paul,  242. 

Glenmore,  221. 

Glennon,  John  Joseph,  205,  296,  301, 
3p3  • 

Gondi,  Anne  of,  3. 

Grace,  Thomas  L.,  229,  233. 

Grand,  Mother  Gonzaga,  102,  116, 
149- 

Great  Council  of  the  Yumas,  282. 

Guthrie,  Mother  Agatha :  character 
of,  158;  conversion  of,  172;  early 
liK,  155;  golden  jubilee  of,  204; 
government  of,  158;  in  Georgia, 
201 ;  in  Michigan,  147 ;  in  Rome, 
166;  in  Wheeling,  74;  Provincial 
superior  in  Troy,  213;  Superior 
General,  157;  last  illness  and 
death,  204-206. 

Habit,  original  form  of,  8,  9. 

Hennessey,  Sister  Adele,  160. 

Hill  of  the  Chartreux,  24. 

Holy  Family,  Church  of,  37- 

Holy  Family,  village  of,  37. 

Hogan,  John  Joseph,  145,  192,  193. 

Home  of  the  Friendless,  the,  306,  307. 

Hospital:  in  Arizona,  258;  in  Colo¬ 
rado,  175;  in  Dakota,  246;  in 
Michigan,  202,  203;  in  Minnesota, 
90,  91,  303,  306;  in  Missouri,  166, 
301;  in  New  Yonc,  221,  222;  in 
Philadelphia,  72. 


Hotel-Dieu,  Vienne,  10. 

Howard  nurses.  See  Yellow  fever  in 
Memphis. 

Howard,  Sister  Celestine,  229,  234, 
237,  238. 

Hughes,  John,  71. 

Illinois  country,  the,  128. 

Illinois,  early  French  villages  in,  28. 

Immaculate  Conception  School,  in 
Canandaigua,  76;  in  St.  Louis, 

65. 

Indian  industrial  schools,  194,  260, 
290. 

Indian  reservation,  86. 

Institute,  teachers’,  in  St.  Louis,  176. 

Ireland,  John,  71,  72,  229,  232,  235. 

Ireland,  Mother  Seraphine,  136,  201, 
229,  235. 

Ivory,  Sister  Francis  Joseph,  75,  78, 
87,  142. 

Jacker,  Edward,  147,  149. 

Jaricot,  Pauline,  28. 

Journey  of  Sisters  to  Arizona,  251- 
254;  to  St.  Paul,  83,  84. 

Jouvenceau,  Francis,  253. 

Joux,  Madame  de,  7. 

Jurisdiction  of  Lyons,  107. 

Kain,  John  Joseph,  178. 

Kaskaskia,  27,  37. 

Kennedy,  Sister  Mary  Joseph,  140. 

Kenrick,  Francis  Patrick,  70,  71. 

Kenrick,  Peter  Richard :  arrival  in 
St.  Louis  of,  61 ;  benefactor  of 
St.  Joseph’s  Academy,  136;  death 
of,  179;  dedicates  St.  Joseph’s 
chapel,  135 ;  interest  in  negro 

school,  63,  64;  at  Diocesan 

Seminary,  98;  presides  at  gen¬ 
eral  election,  118;  promotes  gen¬ 
eral  government,  117,  118. 

Kino,  Eusebio :  apostle  to  Indians, 
248;  builds  San  Xavier,  270; 

memoirs  of,  270. 

Komatke,  arrival  of  Sisters  at,  291, 
292;  St.  John’s  in,  294. 

Lamy,  J.  B.,  248. 

L’Ange,  Francis  Joseph,  97. 

L’Anse,  146,  149 

L’Anse  Bay,  147. 

La  Purissima  Conception,  278. 


INDEX 


332 

La  Rochejaquelin,  Madame  de,  30,  31, 

49,  125. 

Le  Couteulx  Institute,  78. 

Le  Couteulx,  Louis,  77- 
Le  Puy,  7,  8,  10,  12,  24. 

Letters  patent,  10. 

Lillis,  Thomas  F.,  192,  307. 
Littenecker,  Sister  Julia:  Assistant 
General,  159;  education  of,  160; 
in  Canandaigua,  76,  77;  in  Mich¬ 
igan,  147 ;  in  Rome,  121 ;  in 
Yuma,  280,  282';  in  Ste.  Marie, 
187;  in  Mexico,  199;  travels  of, 
160. 

Loisel,  John  Francis  Regis,  42,  63. 
Long  Prairie,  86,  87,  230. 

Loras,  Bishop,  in  St.  Louis,  53. 
Loyzance,  Joseph,  212. 

Lutz,  James  Anthony,  70. 

Maison  Pascal,  17. 

Manifold,  Sister  Marcella,  218,  268, 
300. 

Marchionni,  Pietro,  166. 

Marcoux,  Sister  St.  John,  19,  24. 
Marsteller,  Sister  Mary  Rose,  61,  94, 
96. 

Martin,  Sister  Leonie,  102,  106. 
Martin,  Augustus  Mary,  103. 
Martyrs:  of  the  Revolution,  13,  14; 
of  Japan,  canonization  of,  123; 
relics  of,  167. 

Marquemont,  Denis  de,  2. 

Marquette,  152,  197,  198.  See  also 
Academies,  in  Michigan. 

Mater  Amabilis,  162. 

Maupas,  Henry  de :  at  beatification 
of  Francis  de  Sales,  4;  in  Evreux, 
10;  in  Le  Puy,  4;  founds  Con¬ 
gregation  of  St.  Joseph,  8;  life 

of,  3. 

Mazzuchelli,  Samuel,  O.  P.,  in  St. 
Paul,  235. 

Medaille,  John  Paul,  5-9,  304. 
Melcher,  Joseph,  117,  195. 

Mell’er,  Sister  Euphrasia,  102,  103. 
Menet,  John  Baptist,  and  mission  of 
Sault  Ste.  Marie,  147. 

Method  of  instruction,  95. 

Miege,  Abbe,  102;  John  B.,  102 

(Note),  103. 

Minneapolis,  first  school  in,  233. 
Minnesota,  pioneers  in,  80. 


Miraculous  cure  of  Sister  Laura 
Kuhn,  181,  182. 

Mission  Indian,  the,  291. 

Mission  Hills,  263,  290. 

Missions  in  California,  262. 

Mission  San  Xavier,  272. 

Mission  property  in  Cahokia,  38. 

Mississippi,  secession  of.  See  Civil 
War. 

Missouri  session  laws  regarding  edu¬ 
cation  of  deaf,  52. 

Monaghan,  Sister  Liguori,  160,  162, 
163. 

Monistral,  10-12,  14,  16. 

Mont-Ferrand,  orphanage  at,  8. 

Mount  St.  Joseph,  Tucson,  258,  260. 

Moutiers,  118,  125,  162. 

McCloskey,  John,  208,  210,  21 1,  213, 
214. 

McDonald,  Sister  William,  138,  1 72. 

McKenney,  Mary  Eliza,  memoirs  of, 
57. 

Napoleon,  and  reconstruction  of  the 
Congregations,  16. 

Nazareth  Retreat,  170,  187. 

Negroes:  schools  for,  63,  105;  edu¬ 
cation  of,  65. 

Neumann,  John  Nepomucene,  73,  86. 

New  Orleans,  Sisters  arrive  in,  28, 
jo  3. 

Novitiate:  general,  21;  in  Lyons,  24; 
in  St.  Paul,  91;  in  Troy,  213; 
in  Los  Angeles,  262;  at  Nazareth, 
168,  170. 

O’Connor,  Sister  De  Pazzi,  144,  152. 

O’Gorman,  Sister  Herman  Joseph, 
136,  179,  180,  267. 

O’Hanlon,  John,  98,  156. 

Old  Town,  San  Diego,  263. 

Opelousas,  131. 

O’Regan,  Anthony,  75,  98. 

Organization,  benefits  of,  21. 

Orphanage,  in  Binghamton,  216;  in 
Chicago,  139,  142;  in  Kansas  City, 
191,  192;  in  St.  Joseph,  66,  175; 
in  St.  Louis,  63,  101,  130,  175; 
in  Philadelphia,  71,  73;  in  St. 
Paul,  234;  in  Troy,  221;  in  Tuc¬ 
son,  261. 

Orphan  girls  in  Carondelet,  46,  50, 
51;  in  St.  Louis,  94. 

Oswego,  1 14,  208,  209. 


INDEX 


Our  Lady:  of  Good  Counsel,  114, 
208,  209 ;  of  Mount  Carmel, 
church  of,  45,  69;  of  the  Woods, 
see  Sulphur  Springs. 

Paincourt,  44. 

Papagos  at  San  Xavier,  272,  273 ;  at 
St.  John’s  Komatke,  293;  patriot¬ 
ism  of,  276. 

Paris,  Augustus,  63,  64,  76,  108. 

Parochial  schools,  in :  Alabama,  165 ; 
Arizona,  258,  260;  California, 

260,  265,  268,  269;  Coloiado,  166; 
Georgia,  326;  Illinois,  137,  139, 
142,  165,  199;  Indiana,  166,  190, 
191 ;  Michigan,  130,  146,  147,  196, 
197;  Minnesota,  230,  233,  234, 
236,  238,  246;  Missouri,  130,  145, 
146,  165,  166,  175,  177,  193;  New 
York,  78,  207,  210-213,  214,  215, 
218,  219;  Oklahoma,  200;  Wis¬ 
consin,  194,  195. 

Parochial  school  system  in  St.  Louis, 
178. 

Pater  amabilis,  162. 

Petit,  Madame,  28. 

Picot’s  Castle,  135. 

Picot,  Louis  G.,  62. 

Pima  Indians,  2 72,  293,  295. 

Pima  Reservation,  291,  292. 

Pimeria  Alta,  248. 

Pioneer  Sisters  in  Arizona.  See  Ari¬ 
zona  ;  in  San  Diego,  263 ;  in  St. 
Paul,  83,  84. 

Pius  V  and  religious  enclosure,  1. 

Pius  IX,  letter  of,  127,  128;  brief  of, 
122;  receives  Mother  St.  John, 

1 19. 

Planche,  Lucrece  de  la.  See  Madame 
de  Joux. 

Pommerel,  Mother  Celestine :  arrives 
from  Lyons,  48;  aids  Cahokia 
sufferers,  59,  60;  appeals  to  Lyons 
for  recruits,  106;  in  the  East,  71 ; 
in  Philadelphia,  68,  86;  in  St. 
Paul,  86;  in  Wheeling,  74;  life 
of,  55 ;  last  illness,  and  death  of, 
no;  superior  in  Carondelet,  54; 
plans  general  visitation  of  Con¬ 
gregation,  108. 

Postulant,  first  American.  See  Dil¬ 
lon,  Ann  Eliza. 

Postulants,  first  in  Philadelphia,  71 ; 
in  St.  Paul,  90. 


333 

Prati,  Mercurialis,  166;  Nicolas  Sa- 
vorelli,  167. 

Privileged  altars,  122. 

Propagation  of  the  Faith,  annals  of, 
102,  103,  303,  304;  Association 
for,  136. 

Provincial  House,  in  St.  Paul,  240; 
in  Troy,  213,  215;  in  Los  Angeles, 
262,  267;  in  Savannah,  304;  in 
Tucson,  257. 

Public  school,  first  in  Carondelet, 
97- 

Quaglia,  Cardinal,  120,  121. 

Quebec  priests,  the,  27,  37,  38. 

Ravoux,  Augustine,  81,  82,  112,  229, 
230. 

Regents  of  New  York  University, 
218,  222. 

Relics,  166,  167,  168,  216,  217. 

Renot,  Sister  Cecilia,  104,  106. 

River  Des  Peres,  43,  59,  135. 

Rosati,  Joseph:  Bishop  of  St.  Louis, 
29,  30,  31;  blesses  chapel  at  Ca¬ 
hokia,  42;  diary  of,  35  (Note); 
in  New  Orleans,  35,  36;  plans 
for  deaf-mutes,  51;  receives 
vows,  51,  69;  visits  to  Caronde¬ 
let  of,  47. 

Rossiter,  Mother  Mary  Agnes,  152, 
203,  298,  302. 

Roux,  Benedict,  63,  65. 

Rue  de  la  Bourse,  17,  19,  24. 

Rue  Mi-Careme,  20. 

Ryan,  Abram  J.,  137. 

Ryan,  Mother  Agnes  Gonzaga,  296- 
298,  302,  303. 

Ryan,  Patrick  J.,  98,  164,  167,  290. 

Salpointe,  J.  B.,  248,  249,  250,  255. 

San  Xavier  del  Bac  250,  270,  271, 
275. 

Saulnier,  Edmund,  45. 

Sault  Ste.  Marie,  146,  148. 

Serra,  Junipero,  262,  269. 

Sexton,  Sister  M.  Pius,  159,  160. 

Shockley,  Sister  Assissium,  214. 

Sisters  of  Charity  in  Carondelet,  37, 

45- 

Sisters  of  a  Good  Death,  the,  18. 

Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  (with  Euro¬ 
pean  Mother  Houses)  in:  An¬ 
necy,  25 ;  Bordeaux,  25,  26 ; 


334 


INDEX 


Bourg,  25 ;  Chambery,  24,  25 ; 
Departments  of  Loire  and  Rhone, 
26;  India,  102,  112;  Le  Puy,  7- 
10;  Lyons  10-21;  Moutiers,  102; 
Rome,  25. 

Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  of  Carondelet, 
in  dioceses  of  :  Albany,  118,  131, 
208;  Alton,  137;  Belleville,  143; 
Chicago,  137,  139,  169;  Denver, 
166,  198;  Fargo,  238,  239;  Green 
Bay,  194,  196 ;  Indianapolis,  166, 
190;  Kansas  City  (Missouri), 
142,  193 ;  Los  Angeles  and  San 
Diego,  260;  Marquette,  146,  148, 
196,  197;  Mobile,  163,  183;  Mon¬ 
terey  and  Fresno,  260;  Natchez, 
see  Sulphur  Springs;  Nashville, 
145,  188;  Oklahoma,  200;  Peoria, 
137;  San  Francisco,  260,  268; 
Savannah,  304;  St.  Joseph,  145, 
166,  193 ;  Sioux  Falls,  246 

(Note)  ;  St.  Louis,  27  ff.,  164, 
165,  305;  St.  Paul,  82,  83,  229, 
232;  Syracuse,  210,  222,  227; 
Tucson,  145,  256,  257. 

Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  in  Philadelphia, 
68,  73;  in  Toronto,  73. 

Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  diocesan:  in 
Boston,  1 18;  in  Brooklyn,  99; 
in  Buffalo,  77,  78,  79;  in  Cleve¬ 
land,  234;  in  Erie,  118;  in 
Rochester,  77;  in  Wheeling,  74. 

Spanish  American  War,  Sisters  of 
St.  Joseph  in,  200,  201. 

Spencer,  Mother  Agnes,  73,  74. 

Starr,  Eliza  Allen,  at  St.  Joseph’s, 
173. 

St.  Anthony  Hill,  143. 

St.  Anthony  Falls,  89. 

St.  Etienne,  18,  31. 

St.  Cyr,  J.  M.  I.,  168-170,  114. 

St.  Francis  Xavier,  village  of,  43. 


Ste.  Genevieve,  27,  43,  114,  116. 

St.  Louis,  diocese  of,  27,  28,  29;  Ca¬ 
thedral  of,  36. 

St.  Joseph’s  Academy:  the  log  cabin 
Convent,  51;  “Madame  Celestine’s 
School,”  56;  additions  to,  56,-5 7; 
chartered,  97;  first  boarders,  57; 
teachers  at,  58 ;  early  school  life 
at,  59,  60;  in  1846,  94-99;  de¬ 
stroyed  by  fire,  113;  during  Civil 
War,  133-136;  from  1873  to  1886, 
172,  1 73. 

Statistics,  163,  288,  303,  304. 

Sulphur  Springs,  104,  105,  130,  131. 

Sullivan,  Sister  Winifred,  133,  134, 
180. 

Tezenas,  Mother  Sacred  Heart,  66, 
103. 

Timon,  John,  36,  77,  78,  99. 

Tucson,  248,  255. 

Ubach,  Antonio,  263,  264,  288,  289. 

University  of  St.  Mary  of  the  Lake, 
140. 

Ursulines  in  Marquette,  147;  in  New 
Orleans,  35. 

Van  de  Velde,  James  Oliver,  104,  106. 

Vasques,  Sister  Scholastica,  87,  230. 

Vide  Poche,  44. 

Vienne,  10. 

Vilaine,  Sister  Philomene,  41,  56,  6o, 
80,  132. 

Yellow  fever:  in  Florida,  183,  184; 
in  Memphis,  185,  188;  in  Missis¬ 
sippi,  105,  106;  in  Mobile,  189. 

Yssingeaux,  7. 

Yuma  City,  260,  261,  280. 

Yuma  Indians,  277,  279,  284,  285,  287. 

Yuma  Reservation,  253,  278,  281. 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  HEIGHTS 
CHESTNUT  HILL,  MASS. 

Books  may  be  kept  fc"  two  r’reeks  and  may 
be  renewed  for  the  same  period,  unless  re¬ 
served. 

Two  cents  a  day  is  charged  for  each  book 
kept  overtime. 

If  you  cannot  find  what  you  want,  ask  the 
Librarian  who  will  be  glad  to  help  you. 

The  borrower  is  responsible  for  books  drawn 
on  his  card  and  for  all  fines  accruing  on  the 


same. 


